The Story of Suzie: The Second Adventure
by Zero Slash One
Summary: Two years ago, a battle resulted in Suzie and Lopmon being flung into an alternate reality. Though they found their way back, it seems that fate is not done with them! Tamers / Savers crossover. Part 2/5
1. Day 01: The Departure

**Alright, since no-one's bothered to vote against it, here's a sequel to Suzie's Excellent Adventure, to tie up some of the loose ends from that story...**

**...**

**Which was ****_itself_**** written to expand on some of the events described in the side story of Rika's Strange Birthday...**

**...**

**What the heaven have I gotten myself into...?**

* * *

Once, a young girl by the name of Suzie Wong, and her Digimon partner, Lopmon, fought alongside several others, Takato Matsuki, Guilmon, Rika Nonaka, Renamon, her brother, Henry Wong, Terriermon, Kazu Shioda, Guardromon, Kenta Kitagawa and MarineAngemon, against what might well be called a god of time, ZeedMillenniumon, for the fate of all universes and timelines.

Yet, such a battle could not occur with casualties, and indeed there were, as both Suzie and Lopmon were sent hurtling through space and time, into multiple parallel universes.

For better or worse, the state of affairs in those worlds were irrevocably changed, the universes sent down new and uncharted courses of history, all by the arrival of Suzie and Lopmon.

In one of the worlds they visited, a young boy by the name of Cody Hida obtained the power to Bio-Merge with his Digimon-partner, Armadillomon, a power that he might never have obtained on his own, melding their minds, bodies and souls together to grant them truly formidable power.

In another of those worlds, the fates of several humans and Digimon were changed forever, when a Digimon called Diaboromon arrived in that earth's Japan, killing hundreds of innocent citizens in its rampage, including a bespectacled scientist called Akihiro Kurata.

In yet another world, Tommy Himi's destiny changed forever when he leapt into the ravaged ruins of a world, a shapeless void in-between heaven, hell, purgatory, limbo, earth's dimension and the Digital World, against the wishes of his fellows, having decided that the battle to be fought there was too important for him to do nothing.

In Suzie's and Lopmon's own world, however, since that auspicious day, two years have flown by, and now, a new adventure is beginning for the two...

...

...

...

In an isolated room with dark-grey walls within the Hypnos facility, the Wong family, save Rinchei who had elected to stay away due to Hypnos being nothing but trouble for their family, and Yamaki sat and stood, respectively, in front of a computer-screen, where Ophanimon's face was visible. "Suzie Wong, we have need of you once more," She spoke sternly, her lips pursed in a tight smile, her posture and tone making it clear that she was glaring at them. "Your foray into alternate universes two years ago have unbalanced those world, making their defenders weaker than they ordinarily would be. I ask you now to rectify that. Will you accept? Or not?"

"On a few conditions," She promptly answered, earning her an interested and curious look from Ophanimon, and incredulous looks from her family. "One; that whatever it excactly is that you need me to do will only take a few weeks at the most. Two; that you can bring me back here this moment, less than five minutes after I left."

"Suzie, you do realize that she can't hear you, right?" Mayumi tentatively asked, worried for her daughter's sanity. Perhaps all the battles she'd fought had finally taken their toll on her, she mused. Her eyes widened in shock, when Ophanimon corrected that she _could _in fact hear them perfectly. Henry decided it to likely be a pre-recorded message.

"But, Suzie Wong, do you realize what you are asking of me?" Ophanimon softly spoke. "To bring a human and a Digimon into the Digital World from earth is simple enough. To bring them across universes would be much more taxing, but still with my power. But you are asking me to tamper with time itself. My power is great, yes, but not limitless-" She murmured before Suzie cut her off.

"I don't care! If you want me to abandon my family, and do whatever you want me to, that's going to have a price this time!" Suzie retorted. Ophanimon couldn't argue that the girl's anger was unjustified, considering what she was requesting, but it was still slightly wearying to deal with. Nevertheless, her terms were acceptable, she told the family with a mild sigh. She didn't much like doing this, but in order to keep the worlds of the multiverse safe from the Demon Lords, some sacrifices were oftimes necessary. This version of Suzie Wong knew this well.

"Suzie, please," Jaarin pleaded, tears forming in her eyes. Yamaki decided to leave, as this didn't concern him, the sliding-doors whirring softly as they opened and closed behind him. Slowly, the girl and the rabbit turned to her, looking at their older sister with something the family decided to be shame. "You came back two years ago by pure luck! You can't go again!"

Lopmon eyed Suzie nervously. In truth, she had no real desire to go, any more than Janyu, Mayumi, Henry and Jaarin wanted them to, but she knew that Suzie wouldn't be deterred from something she felt that she had to.

"We do, you heard Ophanimon..." Suzie gave them an apologetic half-smile. "Two years ago, we left some messes behind, and now we have to be the ones to clean them up..."

As soon as she finished, Jaarin charged at her, and was promptly stopped by Janyu, who had grabbed hold of her arm. "Suzie, do you even care about us at all?" Jaarin demanded angrily. Suzie and Henry blinked simultaneously, wondering what she meant. Mayumi winced inwardly, having that this particular subject wouldn't have had to come, but she mused that it was inevitable, in a way...

"Of course I do!" Suzie's tone was louder, and mildly indignant at the question. However, she hadn't ever expected Jaarin to glare at her.

"You've got a funny way of showing it, then!" Jaarin snarled at her sister, who recoiled in shock. "Literally the first opportunity you get to leave, and you take it!?"

Suzie's eyes widened as she stared in shock at her seething, glaring sister. To her own dismay, she realized that Jaarin was absolutely right about everything. Lopmon gave her partner a worried look, as it wasn't often that she seemed so downright rattled. "I'm sorry..." Suzie whispered, unable to say anything else, a tear forming in her eye. "I'm so sorry..."

"Jaarin, calm down," Mayumi told her older daughter, who scowled, and reluctantly took a step back. Then, the woman gave her younger daughter a scrutizing look. Every noise and sound in the room seemed to halt abrubtly, as if in anticipation of her next statement. "You have six weeks, Suzie. Two months at the most, and I expect you both back, alive and unharmed, in a few minutes, understood?"

Suzie released a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding, and nodded. "I promise, Mom. You won't even notice I'm gone." She assured the family, as she and Lopmon were engulfed in the bright light that the screen depicting Ophanimon, sucking them both in, leaving Henry, Terriermon, Jaarin, Mayumi and Janyu in a dark room to await something that they knew might never come.

Whether from Suzie and Lopmon dying in some battle, losing track of time, or something unforeseen along the way, the family knew that their return wasn't assured until it had happened.

...

...

...

Sampson had no absolutely no clue as to what had just occurred. The system malfunction had been inexplicable enough, but against all logic, this girl, Suzie Wong, who had ostensibly dropped in from a parallel universe, with a Digimon partner of her own, had somehow left for parts unknown, through a computer screen no less!

That was ten minutes ago, and now Thomas was busy trying to determine the possible extent of the damage that the system error might caused, and to assess its origin, while Yoshino sat by one of the terminals, staring blankly into the air, Lalamon floating beside her.

To his mild annoyance, Marcus was not only not doing anything productive, but was resting his feet on one of the terminals, though he noted it to be largely irrelevant, as the DATS had larger problems to attend, namely the ramifications of that Digimon's rampage...

Billions, even trillions, of yen in property damage from that devastated street... DATS' budget would take a _very_ large plunge to undo the damage. The repair costs _were _amended somewhat by that Digimon 'only' tearing up a street, destroying several cars and houses... Even after deducting a few million for the damaged cars, the repair effort sum was still astronomical...

A few thousand casualties... The chances of keeping the Digimon and the Digital World under wraps after this were slim-to-none. Even if the general population would be willing to believe an earth-quake story, there was no way that the memories of so many could be erased...

He wasn't ashamed to admit that he was ill-equipped to cope with something like that... Loath as he was to admit it, DATS had failed completely in its mission to keep the world, both human and Digital, safe.

Kudamon, however, was more worried about the repercussions of both Suzie's arrival and the actions of that Diaboromon, in an altogether different way.

Time was a highly sensitive, mutable thing, and there was no telling what sort of consequences these events might have for the future. In the worst possible scenario, an entire alternate timeline, new territory for the Demon Lords to conquer, might be the result.

"I can't..." Lalamon slowly began, her voice cracking as she ceased to speak, as she just couldn't shake off that terrible image. Yoshino turned to her floating partner. "I can't believe that something like this could ever happen..."

"I know... So much death... And Suzie didn't even seem affected by it..." Yoshino whispered, nervously, her voice faintly brittle. Lalamon didn't really register her response. What she wouldn't give to have even a third of that girl's composure and bravery... But it _was_ saddening to her, in a way. No child should ever have to have a resolute composure like that. Now that she thought about it, that girl honestly reminded her of nothing as much as a remorseless war veteran...

"I am very sorry, all of you," Sampson's stentorian baritone interrupted the quietude of the computer room. His posture was deathly still as he rose to his full height. The group, including Lalamon, turned to look at him, curious what he had to say. "Sending the four of you to fight that Digimon was an grievous error in judgment on my behalf. Therefore, I am assigning Thomas H. Norstein, Gaomon, Yoshino Fujieda, and Lalamon away from active duty for a full month, along with mandatory psychiatric evalution for that, courtesy of DATS."

* * *

**Well, this is cheerful...**

**1) I have nothing against either Thomas, Gaomon, Yoshino or Lalamon, but having them keep going after what they witnessed would just be cruel, and letting them would be uncharacteristic of Sampson, especially when there is psychiatric assistance available.**


	2. Day 01: You knew this was coming!

**Alright, I think I've figured out where exactly the story diverges into an AU, namely around episode nine, as the Champion forms of Agumon, Gaomon and Lalamon are reached by then.**

**...**

**If you think about it, Suzie and Lopmon should really be something akin to Eldritch Abominations, within the Data Squad world.**

**1) A pair of beings from another world that are native to a realm beyond your own universe.**

_**1) ****A no-brainer; check.**_

**2) A pair of beings so inconceivably powerful that the locals are utterly insignificant in comparison.**

_**2) Lopmon's Mega form and their Champion forms; check.**_

**3) A pair of beings who wields abilities that defies all logic and reason that they know of****, and operates in radically different ways.**

_**3) The Card Battle System; check.**_

_**...**_

**Oh, this is gonna be great.**

* * *

Yoshino couldn't disagree with her Commander's assessment; indeed, some downtime to relax might really do some good for her and Lalamon. Thomas, however, seemed to.

"Sir, with all due respect, that would leave Marcus and Agumon the sole field operatives in the Japanese branch," Thomas pointed to Sampson. The shades-sporting man retained his level and emotionless expression.

"You are correct, Thomas, but I do not see any other options," Sampson responded in a tone that brooked no argument, nor them attempting to second guess his decision. "Now, for all four of you, your first session will begin at fourteen thirty tomorrow." Sampson spoke, pausing when the alarms that indicated Digimon activity blared without warning.

Marcus smirked, clenching his fists, while Agumon cheered in anticipation of a fight. Both Thomas, Miki and Megumi gasped audibly when the computers pinpointed the exact location.

"It's inside of DATS!" Thomas exclaimed in astonishment. Marcus wondered briefly if it was another Soulmon that was haunting him. Suddenly, in the middle of the room, a phenomena that no-one present had ever seen the likes of appeared from seemingly nowhere.

It consisted primarily of green-and-black square-shaped flickering slivers of some kind of energy. Thomas, Marcus and Yoshino all noted a faint resemblance between that, whatever it was, and their DNA. Within, there was some kind of energymass at the center of whatever it was.

Suddenly, a pair of black specks appeared deep within. Slowly, they grew in size, until Suzie and Lopmon had emerged fully from it.

"Suzie?!" Everyone exclaimed, while the manifestation faded away behind the pair.

To Yoshino's shock and bewilderment, she had somehow aged visibly, looking to be about twelve years old while she had been only ten years old, less than fifteen minutes ago. She trembled in mild panic, as that was utterly impossible, yet it had opened. Fighting Digimon, she could cope with somewhat easily, but something like_ this_, something something repulsively erratic and illogical... She decided that therapy really was a good idea, as was a bucket...

Marcus, however, noted simply that her attire was largely the same as before; pale-greyish chinese-style shirt, pink sweat-bands, some weird device on a necklace and a box of cards attached to her brown-leather belt.

"Ah, there you are," She smiled at Sampson, who eyed her warily, unsure of... Pretty much everything about the situation, such as why she had returned, _how_ she had returned, and she was talking to him. "I would like to request permission to join DATS."

Everyone in the room promptly blinked, once, twice, and thrice for good measure, in shock, doubting that they had heard her right, and even if they had, there was no way that Sampson would ever allow someone so young to join, Yoshino knew.

"You... What?" Sampson blankly asked, his mouth agape in disbelief, his eyebrows seemingly in a competition to achieve the greatest altitude. Quickly, his expression became stony once more. He knew that with four members of his team out of commission, he needed someone to replace them, but was it really right for him to recruit what amounted to a child-soldier and their partner, albeit a willing one that, as near as he could tell, knew both what they were signing up for, and knew the risks of the job better than his current agents?

"Thomas, Gaomon, Yoshino, Lalamon... What do you make of Suzie's and Lopmon's strength and fighting skills? He hesitantly asked the group, who had seen Suzie and Lopmon in action. Certainly, they had managed to bring down a true Mega-level, but that might well have been a fluke, or have had other extenuating circumstances in their favor.

The four gave him mixed disappointed and shocked looks, which he couldn't quite fault them for, given what he was asking. Yoshino, Marcus and Thomas exchanged displeased looks.

"Objectively speaking, sir, Suzie and Lopmon are very powerful, and could in that respect be an asset to DATS," Thomas responded, glaring at the man for thinking to employ a child of her age. "Subjectively speaking, however, and with all due respect, sir, ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!"

Sampson couldn't fault Thomas for being disturbed at the notion, but he didn't much appreciate his tone either. Suzie sighed inwardly. She understood his reasons for objecting full well, but that made it no less annoying to be treated like a child.

"Commander, she can't be more than twelve," Yoshino angrily told the man. Though Marcus was fourteen, his recruitment for DATS had turned better than she'd expected, even if his methods were unconventional. However, she absolutely refused to condone Suzie and Lopmon joining as well, no matter how strong they were. "She's too young!"

Suzie decided that now was a good time to speak up. "Yoshino, I get it, really, I do. But I promise that I know what I'm doing." She sternly told the skeptical senior agent.

Sampson gave the girl a long and scrutinizing look. He knew that it was highly unorthodox, even unethical to allow Suzie and her Digimon to join, but if another Mega-level were to Realize, it would be akin to a _war_. Saddening as the notion was, the girl seemed trained for just that.

"I am sorry, all of you... Suzie, Lopmon, consider yourselves employed by DATS," Sampson sternly told the pair, ignoring his team's looks of disgust and justified outrage. "That is, provided that you adequately answer all of my questions."

Lopmon mused that it really was the least they could do in return, as her Tamer grinned and nodded. "Firstly, why did you return to this 'universe', as you put it?"

The remainder of the DATS mused that in hindsight, it really was a pertinent question to ask, while Yoshino couldn't help but wonder whether she was deficient or flawed in some way, as Suzie, a twelve-year old, could somehow seemingly do her job better than she could, and no-one else seemed disoriented by the conversation topics of alternate universes. Surprised, certainly, as in Marcus' case, and skeptical, like Thomas, but not quite disoriented.

"Ophanimon sent me here," Suzie revealed. The human members of DATS promptly stared quizzically at her, while Lalamon's eyes widened in awe and shock. The fabled Lady Ophanimon herself had sent Suzie to them? One of the Three Great Angels, the Celestial Digimon?

Agumon and Gaomon, however, were more skeptical, as her claims were getting increasingly outlandish. Her partner being one of the twelve Deva of myth, the blue-furred boxer would have accepted, were it not for the fact that it implied the Sovereign, the Harmonious Ones, the Ancients, the First of the Many, the Original Digimon, to exist as well.

Now that Agumon really thought about it, that bit about ZeedMillenniumon and the Brave Tamer was likely boasting as well, simply to make herself look better. Not even Boss could do that, so how could she?

"Apparently you guys needed the help," Suzie continued. Marcus gave her a thoroughly indignant look for her statement, while Sampson cursed inwardly. The Shades-wearing man knew of Ophanimon from the expedition. Ostensibly she was one of the Digital World's legend, a deity revered in the Southern Quadrant, but he hadn't ever believed her to be real. He supposed that it also explained the how of the matter in a round-about way.

"Secondly, I would like to learn more of this, 'Hypnos' agency," Sampson informed her, deciding it a priority to learn of their M.O. He didn't approve of employing children to fight, but Suzie really didn't seem all that affected by it, so they had to be doing something right.

Suzie blinked quizzically, while everyone else decided the conversation to be potentially fascinating, Miki and Megumi pausing in their computer work, while Marcus leaned back in his chair. Yoshino, Thomas and their partners looked at where Sampson and Suzie were.

"Not all that different, really," Suzie shrugged. Lopmon could only agree with her Tamer, as the similarities were surprisingly easy to spot. "The pair of twenty-something women doing computer-work, the tall man in charge wearing shades, the human and Digimon pairs doing the actual fighting..."

Sampson remained immobile, musing that at the least, the man had decent taste in apparel despite his reprehensible methods. Still, he found it highly improbable that the only real difference between the agencies were the names, and the interior decoration, as Suzie had mentioned before leaving through the computer-screen. "Well, that's about all I needed to hear," He told Suzie. "We should have a uniform and Digivice prepared for you shortly."

"No thanks," Suzie grinned. Thomas shook his head, wondering what the girl was trying to pull now. Sampson gave her a bewildered look. "I'm not really interested in a uniform, and I have a Digivice already." She told him, proudly holding the device up with her right hand.

Unlike their smaller, flat and sharply angular models, Suzie's Digivice was a larger, much more rounded and soft, almost clunky, design that fit snugly in the palm of her hand, as though made to fit. It was predominantly grayish-white in coloration, with a soft-pink ring outlining the rectangular screen, which was much smaller than on theirs.

Sampson gaped, unable to stop himself from giving an incredulous and undignified, "Bwuuuhh?", much to Marcus' and Yoshino's amusement. Suddenly, the alarms blared through-out the room, and the computers flickered to life, which the DATS operatives knew to signify Digimon activity.

To Suzie's surprise, her D-Arc didn't register any sort of Bio-Emergence, so either that function didn't work here, or it was a Digi-Egg.

"Sector D!" Miki shouted to Sampson, who nodded affirmatively, noting it to be a first-hand chance to study Suzie and Lopmon in action, though he did briefly wonder why she just stoot around, looking at her Digivice.

"Marcus, Agumon, Suzie, Lopmon, you're with me!" Sampson ordered, and the four followed him out of the room.

...

...

Elsewhere, Suzie, Lopmon, Sampson, Kudamon, Marcus and Agumon arrived at the scene, a house with yellowish-green walls, a navy-blue roof, a shaded front entrance, and a brown wooden-gate to the back-yard to the right of the front door. Inside the car, Marcus and Agumon stared in shock and panic, their eyes wide. Outside the car, Suzie, Lopmon, Kudamon and Sampson stood, surveying the scene, both humans recognizing the building from their own sources of information, personal familiarity and outside viewing.

"No way," Marcus murmured in shock at the highly familiar location.

"Oh-oh," Agumon intoned.

"Marcus, this is your house." Sampson flatly pointed out the obvious.

Inside, Sarah sat on the living room couch, holding what was going to be Agumon's lunch, while Kristy sat beside her, drinking a glass of orange juice through a straw.

The silence of the living room was abrubtly interrupted, when they heard someone rush through the front door, sending it hurtling into the wall with a loud bang. Next thing they knew, Marcus charged into the living room, asking whether they were okay. Strangely, he was accompanied by a man she recognized as Richard Sampson, and what appeared to be a twelve-year old girl with maroon hair and eyes, with a rabbit-like Digimon behind her. _"Honestly, DAT__S are recruiting people younger and younger these days..."_

"What's your deal?" Kristy asked her brother, with an audible undertone of annoyance, her expression holding nothing but confusion. Beside Sampson, Suzie blinked in surprise, as the girl had sounded _exactly _like Rika, tone of voice, pitch, manner of address, everything.

"Is something wrong?" Sarah nervously asked her son, who seemed more interested in the egg.

"Mom..." Marcus slowly began. "Where did you get that egg?"

"Which egg?" Sarah quizzically asked, before remembering the egg in her lap. "Oh this!? Earlier, when I was bringing in the laundry, it just came floating down outta the sky. I thought it was weird, but then I thought I could use it to make Agumon some fried eggs." She chuckled, while Kristy gave a brief giggle, and Agumon approached her, eyeing the egg ravenously, a trickle of drool escaping from his mouth.

Shortly after, everyone were seated around the table where the egg rested, unsure of what to do with it. "Do you have to take it back?" Kristy nervously asked Sampson, yelping and visibly recoiling when the foreboding man gave her a curious look.

"I don't see how we have much of a choice," Sampson responded emotionlessly. "That Digi-Egg could pose a considerable danger, and after what happened in Arakawa, DATS is pretty much a sinking ship..."

Sarah tensed visibly, cringing inwardly, because that incident wasn't something that Kristy should learn about. She decided to try and change the subject. "Speaking of DATS, who's the girl? She's not wearing a DATS uniform like Marcus, but she came with you."

Sampson sighed. There was no reason not to inform Sarah of that, but he wasn't entirely sure of the exact situation himself.

"I guess you could say that me and Lopmon are the newest crewmates of that ship, sent to this universe by a higher power, to keep the ship afloat." Suzie grinned, while Lopmon simply studied the reactions of the other two.

Marcus wasn't quite sure how to describe his mother's and sister's facial expression. Shocked and speechless described it fairly well, he supposed, but to use those terms was like saying that the sun was warm, absolute zero was cold, and that his fists caused pain to whatever he punched; technically true, but a huge understatement.

"P-pardon?" Sarah stammered, while Kristy was still too dumbfounded and bewildered to form a sentence, or do much of anything other than gape in confusion. Suzie began to reply, but was cut off by the egg rolling onto the floor, where it started to shake.

"GET IT! STOP IT! DON'T LET IT GO!" Sampson roared at the group, who scurried to get it, Marcus leaping at the egg, which somehow leapt out of the way.

When it landed, Lopmon tried to grab hold of it with her ears, only for it to roll away, and leading her to crash into Agumon. "Sorry..." She groaned quickly, before the two resumed their pursuit of the egg, which escaped them by rolling under the couch.

"I got it!" Suzie shouted, almost having grabbed the egg that had rolled out from under the couch, only for Marcus' head to collide with hers, knocking her out cold in a splitsecond, and leaving her unconscious form slumped over the side of the couch.

"It's right here, guys," Sarah apprehensively informed them, pointing to the egg that was rolling away from the pair, having rolled past the table, and would soon make the escape to freedom, to adventure, to glory! Sampson and Kudamon simply watched the scuffle unfold, with faint smiles. The way things were headed, they needed something to laugh about, no matter how small.

Suzie groaned as she raised her left arm, giving Sarah a thumbs-up, before her arm less than a second later fell once more, hanging loosely. Agumon eyed his opportunity, leaping towards the egg, only to slip on the floorboard, and crash his jaw into the egg, causing a crack.

Lopmon noted that so far, everything had gone largely as it had in Data Squad proper, with only minute differences caused by her and Suzie's presence, and the absence of Yoshino, Lalamon, Thomas and Gaomon.

The group watched in abject shock as the egg began to crack, to reveal a black-skinned, seed-like Digimon, covered in a transparent tissue that had a pair of emerald-green leaves at the top.

Slowly, Suzie stirred on the couch. Noticing the newly-hatched Nyokimon, she realized what had occurred while she was out. "We've really screwed up this universe, haven't we, Lopmon? Us and that Diaboromon..." She smiled at her partner.

"In ways I can barely imagine, Suzie," The rabbit answered softly.

"What Digimon is that?" Sarah curiously asked Sampson, unsure of what that exchange had meant.

"Nyokimon," Sampson and Suzie spoke in unison. He paused when he saw where she got her information, namely a purplish-blue and yellow holographic display, containing a picture of Nyokimon and several lines of text. "Level: Fresh. Attribute: Data. Type: Seed. Attacks include Seed Cracker."

Kristy honestly didn't know what any of that stuff meant, but she did know one thing. "ADORABLE!" She squealed as she leapt off the couch, charging at the newly-hatched Digimon at a speed that no-one present could follow, flinging aside Agumon in preparation for a hug to the little Digimon.

As the continually ever more dumbfounded group watched her rub it against her face, both cooed with joy.

"That's quite a device you have there," Sarah spoke to Suzie, trying to restart the conversation, or any conversation really, while the girl attached her D-Arc back to her belt. "Is it a new model that DATS has developed?"

"No," Suzie answered. Sarah gave her a surprised look. If it wasn't something that DATS had made, then where had she gotten it? "It's something I got when I met Lopmon several years ago, in our own universe...

"You're from another universe?!" Sarah incredulously asked, mildly skeptical of the concept. While it certainly wasn't impossible, given everything else, she couldn't believe that someone from another universe looked so, so... Natural, and human.

...

...

...

Downstairs, Sarah, Suzie and Lopmon were standing by the front door, debating their habitation. "Where will you go?"

Suzie and Lopmon winced visibly, as neither had really considered that. Lopmon had just assumed that there would be somewhere to stay at DATS, but now... The rabbit's and Tamer's trains of thought were interrupted by the sound of a shattering window from upstairs.

Sarah gasped in shock, wondering what was going on up there, while Suzie and Lopmon rushed up the stairs, finding as expected, Falcomon in Kristy's bedroom.

"What's going on!?" Suzie demanded of the bird and of Kristy. Falcomon responded with a growl, sending a gust of wind, pushing her back. In a highly-familiar motion, she reached for her card-box, pulling out the front card, a Digivolution-card as always.

To the utter shock of both human and Digimon, she held up her Digivice, which Falcomon noted to be odd-looking, and slid the side of the card through the slit on the side of the Digivice.

"Digimodify!" She declared loudly, while Lopmon's form became engulfed in blinding white light. "Digivolution, activate!"

Had anyone been able to follow the Digivolution in any sort of detail, they would have seen a gruesome sight, as Lopmon's skin and flesh ripped itself to pieces, the arms, head, ears, legs, torso and abdomen, exposing a pale-brown energymass in the shape of Lopmon's form, that briefly shuddered in near-unbearable agony.

As quickly as it had been torn off, the damaged flesh regrew, recolored a rich purple shade. The new Digimon stood at twice Lopmon's height, clad in jet-black slippers, a yellow gi with a black leather-belt, a pair of red gauntlets holding a metallic-gray claw-like implement, and a purplish-blue scarf. Her arms were lanky, yet held visible muscle definition.

"Turuiemon!" The martial-arts rabbit roared, her voice deep, yet decidedly female, preparing for the eventuality of fighting him. "Leave now, Falcomon!" She ordered the bird, who was speechless at what he had just seen.

"With the Digimon!" He retorted, and turned to Kristy and Nyokimon. When he did, however, Marcus delivered a solid punch to his midsection. Wincing in pain, he fell, supporting himself with his left wing, clutching his stomach with his right.

When he looked up, he saw that Turuiemon and Marcus stood above him, scowling at him, while the teen readied his fists. "This is your last chance." Turuiemon told him sternly. "We are not your enemies. Leave now and we will not pursue you."

Falcomon deemed it best to comply with her demand. The human alone had proven difficult to handle, and he wasn't whether that Champion-level or the other human's highly unusual tricks would prove more troublesome.

Suddenly, Falcomon disappeared from sight, and Marcus saw him reappear outside, flying off into the night-sky, while Agumon and Sarah arrived in the bedroom, wondering what was going on, and what that strange, rabbit-like Digimon was.

Agumon furiously turned his head, looking around, asking what was doing on. Marcus exasperatedly answered that he was late, and that was what happened.

"Guys, something's happening with Nyokimon!" Kristy shouted, alarmed. Everyone turned to look at the seed-like Digimon, and true enough, something really was happening. He was radiating a golden light around himself, which everyone present save Sarah and Kristy knew what signified.

He was Digivolving. Suddenly, the DATS agents watched the familiar circle of golden, glowing square-shaped slivers engulf him, and rise into the air, dissipating once his Rookie form was fully formed.

His appearance was greatly similar to that of the rabbit close to him, Marcus noted, but he was now more reminiscent of a dragon. He stood at just about two meters in height. Though most of his skin was purple, his hands were grayish-white. On both his hands and feet were three jet-black sharp claws.

His eyes were azure-blue, and on his forehead was an X-shaped scar, that was longer on the top portion than on the bottom portion. His only garment was a red vest with a pair of yellow buttons, arranged to resemble eyes. From his back protruded a pair of short, leathery yellow wings. Unusually, the tip of his tail was in the shape of a hammer.

"Hi," He casually told everyone.

"You can talk..." Sarah whispered in shock, while both her and her daughter stared in incredulity at the transformation.

"How nice of you to notice. Really now, how astute," The Digimon retorted at Sarah. "Any other observation you'll like to share?"

While everyone else gaped at the sight, Suzie decided to check out that Gumdramon, detaching her D-Arc from her pants, and scanning it.

_"Gumdramon. Level: Rookie. Attribute: Data. Type: Mini Dragon. Attacks include Ran-gum Break, Jacked Hammer and Fire Vortex,"_ Suzie noted on her D-Arc.

This was going completely unlike what she'd expected. Nyokimon rather than Puwamon hatching from the egg should in hindsight have been a sign that something was up, but as both Digimon could Digivolve into Biyomon, she'd thought nothing of it at the time.

And if that was unfolding different, two questions became relevant to her.

Why had everything up to this point happened as it had in Data Squad?

And what else would turn out differently? Would the Marcus and Biyomon fight still happen, now that it was a Gumdramon instead? "Can we stay here for the night?" Suzie tentatively asked Sarah, who shakily nodded, currently lacking the mental excess to argue. "In case Falcomon comes back, Turuiemon'll be here to handle him, so you guys can get some sleep."

"Agreed," Marcus intoned, growling in fury at what that Falcomon had done. That Digimon could wreck as much stuff as it wanted, it could lay into him all it wanted, it could even try and kill him, but his sister was off-limits! "I'll take the next watch in an hour."


	3. Day 02: A new Tamer within DATS!

**Review Responses**

The Keeper of Worlds) **Yeah, thanks for the vote of confidence, but that's not really helpful. At all.**

* * *

The next morning, Marcus, Agumon, Kristy, Gumdramon, Sarah, Suzie and Lopmon were seated around the dinner table, with both Marcus and Agumon frenziedly gulping down the fried eggs, much to the befuddlement of Gumdramon, who wondered whether such... Enthusiasm and liveliness were normal for them.

The night before hadn't been easy, Marcus thought, as him and Agumon, and Suzie and Lopmon, had taken turns to keep watch over the house in case that Falcomon came back, which he fortunately hadn't, though Marcus would have liked to teach him a lesson.

Sarah was more concerned about how best to broach the subject of Gumdramon; she didn't want to ask him to leave, but if he didn't, Kristy would have to join DATS, and she didn't want to let her daughter risk her life for the same cause that Spencer had died for.

"Kristy, I'm sorry, but Gumdramon can't stay with you..." Sarah softly told her daughter.

"But why not?!" Kristy exclaimed, tears starting to form in her eyes, while Gumdramon winced inwardly. He'd had this nagging feeling that him being here was somehow wrong, but at the same time, being with Kristy the way that Marcus and Agumon were partners, and that Suzie and Lopmon were, simply felt _right _to him. "Marcus, Thomas and Suzie have Agumon, Gaomon and Lopmon, so why can't I stay with Gumdramon?! It's not fair!"

Everyone else shared concerned looks; Kristy was right that it wasn't fair. Sarah knew that she would've had to learn that life sometimes wasn't fair, but she just wished that it didn't have to be a lesson learned like this...

In the corner of her eye, Kristy noted that Suzie was giving her a questioning look. The maroon-haired girl decided that her view-point on the matter would prove helpful, though possibly not appreciated.

Though, Suzie wondered whether it was right for her to argue against Kristy and Gumdramon staying together, when she had knowingly disobeyed her own brother and stayed with Lopmon, several years ago.

Then again, was it right for her to simply let things play out, and allow Kristy and Gumdramon to gain responsibilities that they possibly could shoulder, yet shouldn't have to?

Suzie had little idea how to approach the conundrum, nor was she sure which option would make her less of a hypocrite, all things considered.

"Kristy, it's too dangerous for you!" Marcus shouted at the girl, who didn't flinch in the slightest, glaring back at her brother.

"I don't care!" Kristy frantically shouted back. Marcus wondered why Suzie was sticking her nose in something that didn't really concern her, while Sarah was more curious as to why she sounded like it was a matter of personal importance to the girl. "I'll do whatever it takes, as long as I can stay with Gumdramon!" She declared firmly, pouting at the other girl.

Lopmon nervously glanced at Suzie and Kristy, as the younger girl was saying the exact same thing that Suzie had years ago, when they first met, and the rabbit was discharged from service to the Sovereign.

Suzie gave the Family a wistful, nostalgic smile at Kristy's familiar sentiment. "Do you know who else said that, Kristy?" She interjected, waiting for the brunette to respond. Kristy nodded, unsure of what that had to do with anything. "I did, when I was seven years old, and met Lopmon. My older brother told me exactly what Marcus is telling you now, and I like to think that me and Lopmon managed just fine."

Sarah gasped when Suzie finished her statement. Seven?! Had she really only been half Marcus' age when she got involved in that madness? How _neglectful_ would her parents, and society, have to be, to allow her to do something like that?! Or was that somehow the norm in her universe? A rite-of-passage of some kind?

Alternately, Sarah mused that she was simply a child who had gotten herself mixed in something that she was too young to understand fully, and that had been mature long before she was ready, simply in order to cope.

Suddenly, Sarah realized that she might be looking at the matter in much too large and dramatic terms, when for all she knew, traversing into alternate universes might not be considered unusual at all in the universe that Suzie and Lopmon came from; literally the equivalent of visiting a friend's house, or going down to a grocery store.

"Kristy, I'm the last person who should be telling you that this is a bad idea, but if you're really going to do this, I think that everyone would appreciate you knowing exactly what you're getting into," Suzie sighed, leaning back in her chair, folding her arms. Marcus quizzically looked at her, wondering whether she was trying to discourage Kristy, or encourage her.

"What do you mean?" Kristy curiously asked, sensing that the older girl had stopped wasting her time with trying to talk her out of it.

"Kristy, if you stay with Gumdramon long enough, you'll see things you can't even begin to imagine," Suzie began, confusing everyone present as to what she meant.

She continued, speaking of alternate timelines, clarifying them to the group as worlds where things happened differently than they had in the world that Kristy, Marcus and Sarah inhabited, explaining to Marcus that those were in a separate category from the Digital World in that those timelines had their own Digital World.

Next, she spoke of alternate universes, worlds separate from her own, existing side by side yet only rarely connecting or touching. She clarified to Kristy, Marcus, and Agumon that those worlds were, metaphorically speaking, their own world-tree, while the alternate timelines were but different branches of those world-trees.

She proceeded to tell the five that some Digimon possessed powers and abilities that even DATS had never seen the likes off, existing on a stratum of power akin to gods and devils. Marcus blinked why Agumon suddenly seemed outright horrified at Suzie's mention of, 'Megidramon', whatever that was. The family stared in abject shock and horror, after Agumon had explained what exactly Megidramon, and what its mere existence would cause.

Sarah wasn't sure how to describe the feeling that Suzie's tirade had caused in her. 'Despondency', she decided, was a good word to describe it, as were helplessness. She had never considered herself the most important person in the world, but she hadn't ever thought of herself as insignificant before now.

In a way, it was liberating. If she had no inherent purpose, who was to say that any purpose she might set for herself was wrong?

Suzie continued undeterred by their reactions, telling them about creatures that were neither human nor Digimon, possessing powers and knowledge that transcended anything that either could achieve, such as the Zero Arms, Grani, Orochi and Behemoth.

"I told you, I don't care!" Kristy retorted, though in truth she hadn't really understood much of what it all meant. "If I can stay with Gumdramon, I'll accept all of the risks! I don't care how dangerous that might be!"

"Heh," Gumdramon grinned. That kid could say some impressive things when she wanted, so he decided that sticking around might be fun, and placed a hand on her left shoulder. "Make that two of us, kid."

Sarah and Marcus looked incredulously at her. Evidently they had underestimated just how deadset she was on doing this. However, they didn't have very long to consider that, as suddenly, something happened that no-one had ever expected.

To Marcus' shock and ire, five rays of golden light suddenly shot out from the screen of Suzie's Digivice, surrounding Kristy and Gumdramon, bathing them in their light.

The beams outlined five spots on the kitchen wall behind, which Sarah noted to form a near-perfect pentagon, with one node of light at the top, two further at an uneven angle downwards, and a further two at another uneven angle from those two.

Before anyone could ask what Suzie, or more accurately her Digivice, was doing, the five rays slowly started to move, the top one moving towards the lower right one, the lower right one moving towards the upper left one, the upper left one moving towards the upper right one, the upper right one moving towards the lower left one, the lower left one moving towards the top one, none of the five beams intersecting at any point.

In front of Kristy and Gumdramon appeared a golden orb of energy, the energy fading to reveal the same of kind of Digivice that Suzie had, only it had navy-purple coloration where Suzie's had pink.

It floated before them, seemingly ready and waiting for Kristy to claim, while Marcus, Agumon, Sarah, Suzie and Lopmon stared blankly at the sight, their eyes engaged in a competition to determine who could widen the farthest.

"What just happened?!" Marcus exclaimed, looking at Suzie, determined to get some answers. Suzie responded with a sigh, knowing that while it might give the brunette some advantages compared to the remainder of the DATS, she and Lopmon hadn't come here simply to give Kristy a D-Arc and some cards...

Suzie supposed in mild exasperation that it _was_ one way to do it. "I have no idea, Marcus." She admitted. "In my universe, D-Arcs are made by changing a device into them, and in the Digital World, made from thin air. I don't know how that happened, any more than you do."

Marcus blinked at hearing this, because so far, Suzie and Lopmon had known pretty much everything, including several things that even DATS didn't.

"Anyway, the choice is yours, Kristy," Suzie told her, as Kristy nervously reached for the floating Digivice. "If you touch that D-Arc, your life will change forever. If it's adventure and excitement you want, you'll get a lifetime's worth, and everything that goes with it."

She had barely finished her sentence before Kristy had grabbed a firm hold of the D-Arc. "Kristy, a normal life has its own comforts. It's safe, predictable, and has a very good chance of you surviving into old age. But you've made your choice."

"What's a 'D-Arc'?" Marcus blankly asked. Just once, he wished that anything that involved Suzie would make sense.

"That's what our models of Digivices are called," Suzie casually answered, before taking one of the fried eggs.

"So how do I get Gumdramon into this thingie?!" Kristy excitedly asked.

"Sorry, the D-Arcs don't have that function," Suzie told her, after swallowing the egg. "It has some other functions, but storing Digimon is only for the DATS model."

Kristy sighed. Those other functions had better be good ones, otherwise she was trashing that thing, and getting a DATS model like Marcus'. "Like what?"

"Analyzing Digimon, to let you what you're fighting, a Compass, to tell you if there are any Digimon nearby to be fought, and that's pretty much all," Suzie told her.

"Can I do that Digimodify thing you did last night?! You know, with the card?!" Kristy excitedly asked, while Sarah's expression turned quizzical, wondering how a card was involved in whatever Kristy meant by 'Digimodify'.

"Maybe," Suzie answered simply, reaching for her belt and card-box, opening it, and taking out a small stack of about twenty cards, which was about half of what she generally carried around. Kristy, Marcus, and Sarah noted that most of those cards had the same blue-rimmed green-colored backing, though one of them resembled a credit card moreso than a playing card, colored ocean-blue with a yellow 'D' at the center, comprised of circular pixels that thinned as they went towards the black magnetstripe. Seemingly emerging from that 'D' was a purple dinosaur-like creature, the pixels forming it clearly visible.

Another card in Suzie's collection had a similar layout, only with inverted colors, predominantly red coloration, a light grey magnetstripe, and the same logo as there was on the blue version of that card.

Taking note of their curiosity, yet preoccupied, Suzie continued to shuffle through the cards, positive that she'd included at least seven Digivolution cards. Eventually, she placed five cards in a stack before her, with the edge placed slightly off the dinner table. "Those cards should be enough for the average battle." Suzie told Kristy, as she handed her the cards. "I'm not really sure whether they will work with Gumdramon, but if they don't, I can take them back."

"You _actually_ fight with _cards _in your universe?" Marcus skeptically asked, chuckling slightly. He'd seen some strange things in his time with DATS, but fighting with cards instead of fists, definitely took the cake. "And what's that smell?"

Suzie shifted guiltily in her chair. "Sorry, that's me." She answered, pointing out in response to their disgusted looks that she hadn't gotten many opportunities to take a shower when she had to traverse universes, join a covert government agency, and keep watch for most of the night.

...

...

...

Suzie and Lopmon agreed that this was going too far, and the rabbit prepared for the fight as Suzie moved to slide the card through her D-Arc. However, before she could, Marcus' Digivice was knocked out of his hand, by a four-pronged throwing star, flung at him from a nearby transmission tower. Agumon saw the Digivice land behind boss, while the throwing star embedded itself in the ground beside it.

"It's him!" Marcus exclaimed, as atop the transmission tower was Falcomon.

"I have come for you, Gumdramon!" He announced to the group on the ground. "Now you will return to the Digital World with me!"

Back down at the ground, Gumdramon winced as he got up, glaring at the bird. He still remembered what Falcomon had done last night, and he wasn't exactly pleased. "No thanks, staying seems like more fun."

Falcomon gasped when he registered the dragon Digimon's rebuttal. Just what had the human done to him? "But regardless, you have bigger problems!" Gumdramon growled, unnerving Kristy slightly, as she'd never seen him act like that before. "I really don't think that I appreciate you threatening my partner and her mother!" He shouted at the owl-like Digimon, who cursed inwardly, as this was becoming much too difficult. With both that human, and the Lopmon from before present, his chances of freeing that Gumdramon were slim. But nor could he leave him to those vile humans!

Kristy tensed in mild panic, wondering why that Falcomon was suddenly glaring angrily at her. Angrily declaring his behavior to be her fault, he roared, 'Ninja Blade', unleashing a flurry of throwing stairs towards, which narrowly missed her, as Gumdramon flung himself at her, throwing her out of their way.

"You okay, Kristy?"

Atop the transmission tower, Falcomon trembled in disbelief at the sight; Gumdramon was not only at ease around humans, but would even take risks like that for their sake?! The thought was mindboggling to him.

"Hey, bird-brain," Falcomon's attention was suddenly drawn downwards by Marcus' growling tone, where he saw the teen climbing up the ladder towards at a remarkable speed. On the group, Suzie nodded to Lopmon, declaring the activation of her Matrix Digivolution, and subsequently her Hyper Wings, card, while Kristy and Agumon confusedly asked what she was doing. "If you want a fight, I'll give you one!"

"Care for a hand, Marcus?" A soft voice suddenly asked him, with a lightly amused tone, when he had gotten half-way up the ladder. When he turned his around, he saw Lopmon in that 'Deva' form, that Agumon had told him was one of twelve servants of the Digital World's deities, the Sovereign, her left hand extended towards him. However, now she floated behind him, supported by six wings that bathed everything in their vicinity with white light, much to his surprise.

He briefly wondered why she hadn't Digivolved to Mega, and where the wings had come from, but he surmised that there was a reason behind that, which he decided that he could ask later, as now it was fighting time! "You bet!" Marcus smirked, as he leapt from the ladder onto the palm of her hand. Almost immediately, they began to fly towards the owl, who flew away from the transmission tower.

Agumon immediately saw his chance to attack Falcomon, knowing that Boss and Antylamon would survive. "Pepper Breath!" He declared, firing a large burst of dark-orange flame at Falcomon, which he dodged with incredible ease, seeming to disappear. Agumon gasped when he reappeared from seemingly nowhere.

"Hey, bird-brain!" Marcus shouted from behind him. Falcomon turned to see Marcus leaping from Antylamon's hand, only a split-second before he made contact. Falcomon yelped in pain as his stomach became nothing short of agonizing, wincing as he crash-landed on the ground.

Suddenly, to nearly everyone's mild surprise, it slowly started to rain, first a single drop, then two, then several, followed by the downpour, and a whitish-blue crackling streak of lightning that scorched the ground where it impacted, which both Suzie and Lopmon knew all too well what meant.

Where the lightning bolt had struck now appeared an ethereal transparent bluish-white flame. A deep, commanding baritone ordered Falcomon to stay back. Soon, it had manifested fully, as the shaman-like Digimon, Merukimon.

In response to his arrival, both Kristy's and Suzie's D-Arcs generated the same holographic display, listing the same information.

_"Merukimon. Level: Mega. Attribute: Virus. Type: God Man. Attacks include Thousand Fist, Spiritual Enchant and Super Charge," _Kristy quickly read off the holographic display. Unsure of what any of that meant, she asked Suzie, who simply told her that it was bad news. "Marcus, don't!" Her and Suzie began as Marcus charged at the gargantuan Digimon.

"Foolish boy," Merukimon muttered in mixed annoyance and amusement, wondering what that human had hoped to achieve by attacking him.

"Well, Marcus is still young," The Antylamon told him softly. To Merukimon's mild surprise, she somehow had six white glowing wings on her back. Had the humans dared to not only enslave Digimon to their bidding, but even to experiment on them, and reshape their bodies to such a radical extent. On second thought, he started to question it, as neither the Gumdramon or Agumon that stood a distance behind the rabbit showed any sign of such. "Give him time, and he may yet become like his father." Antylamon continued, seeing absolutely no point to a battle that could be averted simply by dropping a hint to Merukimon.

Underneath his helmet, Merukimon blinked, wondering how in both worlds he was to know the father of a human, before he got a closer look at Marcus, who had gotten up to fight again, the familiar orange-golden crackle suffusing his hand serving as all the evidence of the boy's parentage that Merukimon needed.

"That DNA Charge is familiar to me," Merukimon declared loudly. To the shock of Marcus, Agumon, Kristy and Gumdramon, he was laughing heartily. "I never knew of Spencer Damon having children!"

Marcus and Kristy gasped. How did he know about their father?!

Suddenly, he got down on one knee before them, with a visible smile on his face. Antylamon stepped aside, deeming this a matter between him and the family.

"That Gumdramon... The egg he was formed from was a creation that I and Spencer Damon fashioned in unison, his extraordinary idea and my power, pooled to create something new and unforeseen, that might someday help to create peace between our two worlds. He was to have been the partner of that Digimon, but fate seemed to have other plans." Merukimon explained to the group, who blinked, still unsure of how Merukimon knew their form, noting that this explained why Falcomon had wanted the egg so badly. "It was his last and greatest gift to us all, and it is fitting that his child should carry on his legacy." He declared, turning to leave with Falcomon.

"Wait!" Marcus and Kristy exclaimed, as the two took off into the sky.

* * *

**Well, this is certainly turning out differently than in Data Squad... Well, this is alternate episode 10, so the main plot'll kick in after about seven consecutive chapters of pointless material, which isn't actually pointless, because Thomas/Gaomon/Yoshi/Lalamon have therapy for the month. **

**If you can't wait, or wants the plot to actually progress, I recommend checking back around chapter 09/ 18.**

**...**

**1) Yes, I realize that Gumdramon, rather than Biyomon, being the Rookie of that egg is a considerable plot-twist and divergence from Canon. I like to think it justified, as there's no point in recapping the same old story, only with Suzie edited in.**

**Regardless, I _do _have a plan for it being Gumdramon rather than Biyomon.**

**2) The bit about the egg being Spencer Damon's final gift to the worlds was, well, because was it ever explained what was so goddamn important about it?**


	4. Day 02: Battle With Big Consequences

**Review Responses**

The Keeper of Worlds) **You're joking, right? It's plainly obvious that you're the Beta-Reader; you'll have to be an idiot not to deduce _that_. Also, no spoilers.**

Gogglegirl) **Happy to hear it. And guess what? Three more parts! **

**Wide-scale destruction caused by a Digimon, Suzie and Lopmon, actual psychological problems among the cast, and Kristy getting her own D-Arc, cards and partner... Geez, this is turning into Tamers V2...**

**...**

**Yeah, I have no idea how a therapy session actually looks, so I'm just going to wing it.**

* * *

In a medium-large room, with dirty-white walls and no interior decoration, other than a black couch, where Thomas, Gaomon and Yoshino sat, with Lalamon floating above her, and a brown chair with a rounded back, where a twenty-something brown-haired woman wearing a lime-green dress sat.

Keiko hoped that they could make some actual progress today, as the four had been annoyingly unresponsive and uncooperative yesterday, which she decided was either a sign of denial that treatment and psychiatric assistance could prove beneficial, or just plain old stubbornness, she wasn't sure which.

"So, can we get something done today, or would you like to sit around and mope?" Keiko drawled.

Yoshino visibly cringed. While she knew that talking about it was the only way forward, she just couldn't bring herself to do so. Thomas, on the other hand, grumbled in frustration, as he and Gaomon had better things to do than waste time with this, even if that amounted to computer work with Miki and Megumi.

"Alright," Thomas groaned, leaning back in the couch. "Ever since Suzie showed up, I've realized just how lucky we've been, up to this point."

Keiko, Yoshino and Lalamon blinked, wondering what he meant with that. Gaomon realized it all too well. That Digimon, whatever it's name was, had been a Mega-level, when they had only had fought Rookies and Champions so far. They had been completely unprepared for something, and hundreds of humans had paid the price for that.

Keiko noted that at the least, they were now making progress. "Could you clarify on that? How do you mean, 'lucky', Thomas?"

Thomas didn't respond, his expression visibly uncomfortable, almost pained, as the memories of the carnage and devastation flashed through his mind. Yoshino and Lalamon gave him a worried glance, while Gaomon eyed him sternly, positive that he would pull through, and emerge all the stronger for it.

Keiko decided that Thomas would likely rather sit in his own thoughts and reflect on it, so she decided to move on to Yoshi. Before she could, however, Thomas spoke up again.

"... So far, me and Gaomon have only rarely fought anything stronger than a Champion-level Digimon," He spoke with a humorless smile. "I actually started to think that it was everything the Digital World had to throw at us... I'll never make that mistake again..."

Keiko mused that at least, he exhibited no real mental illness to speak of, because of the incident. In terms of sheer trauma, he was busted to hell, but that was something that she could work with.

"Thomas, let me ask you and Gaomon a question," The woman softly spoke, awaiting their assent before proceeding. Hesitantly, both Thomas and Gaomon nodded. "If Suzie and Lopmon hadn't shown up, what do you think would have happened?"

Suffice to say, Thomas didn't appreciate that question. At all. "I know perfectly well what would have happened!" He growled at her, glaring at her with a murderous look in his eyes that no-one present had ever seen from him before, and frankly unnerved the four. "We'll have died, and so would everyone else in Japan, possibly the entire world! Do you have any idea what it's like to know that a single slip-up could cause hundreds of people their lives?!"

"More than you think," Keiko responded cryptically, smiling. "My father, Akihiro Kurata, was among the casualties of that Digimon."

"I'm... I'm so sorry," Yoshino whispered, while everyone looked down. Akihiro Kurata had been one of DATS' most esteemed scientists, and he'd died on their watch. How had they ever been allowed to keep working for DATS?

"Don't be," Keiko replied somewhat shakily, after a bit of a pause. She didn't like thinking about it, remembering seeing his corpse at the coroner's for ID'ing, but she had to be strong, for his sake. To do anything but would be disrespectful to his memory. "That you weren't able to save him, doesn't make you culpable for his death. And even if I _did _blame you, it wouldn't bring him back, would it?"

"I-I... I..." Thomas stammered, unable to believe it. Even if she arguably had the right to forgive him for failing to save the man, how could she do so, so easily? Keiko sighed, deciding to change the subject onto something less depressing. "Anyway, let's move on. You mentioned Suzie? How do you feel about working someone so young?"

Yoshi cringed inwardly. In truth, she hadn't given it much thought, but she had in a way known that it was inevitable that they would work together.

"I don't know where to begin with Suzie," Gaomon admitted, with a rumble in his voice, clenching his gloves. Keiko quirked an eyebrow in mild fascination, wondering what he meant. "Those two have told us incredible things, some that I can't even begin to imagine actually being real, and others being the stuff of nightmares."

"What sort of things, Gaomon?" Keiko concernedly asked, jutting down a few notes. As far as she could tell, the girl sounded to be somewhat sadistic, telling him horror-stories simply to see his reaction, and deliberately obtuse, telling him nonsensical notions for the same reason; her own amusement. Most likely, however, this was largely a misunderstanding. Whether mutual or one-sided, she had yet to determine.

"Outlandish, unsettling things," Gaomon replied. "The Celestial Digimon, the Sovereign and Deva, ZeedMillenniumon and the Brave Tamer..."

Keiko blinked, having absolutely no freakin' clue who or what any of those Digimon were. Noticing her bewildered expression, Gaomon decided to clarify. "They are essentially deities within the Digital World, both the Celestial Digimon and the Sovereign, supposedly wielding power beyond imagination and having existed for millennia."

"And what of ZeedMillenniumon and the Brave Tamer?" Keiko inquired curiously. Humans had, over the centuries, crafted multiple mythologies that involved both gods and spirits embodying concepts. Had the Digimon thought of such things as well? To an extent, the notion of Digimon having Gods unnerved her. Various Digimon had, as far as she knew, exhibited incredible powers. How powerful would their deities have to be, in order to truly be able to profess divinity?

"That legend, or myth, is of a different sort..." Gaomon sighed, trying to recall all the details of the story, though it had been years since he'd had to recount it. "The tale is told of another world, a world of adventure, on the human date of December thirty-first, nineteen-ninety-nine, when a human boy, who Suzie called Ryo Akiyama, was called to the Digital World, to combat a foe known as Millenniumon."

Keiko, Yoshi and Thomas blinked in mild surprise, as Gaomon had previously referred to that Digimon as 'ZeedMillenniumon', though they surmised that there was an explanation forthcoming as Gaomon continued his story.

"For the first time of several, Millenniumon fell. 'Ryo' returned to his own world, to live in peace once more. That was not to be, however. Months passed, and he was summoned once more, along with another boy to aid him, to defeat Millenniumon once more." Gaomon finished. "Eventually, the two managed to defeat Millenniumon for the second, destroying his body to ensure he could never return."

"And I'm guessing that it didn't work..." Yoshino muttered in annoyance, as that would've been too easy and convenient. Gaomon nodded.

"The other boy was somehow infected with Millenniumon's evil when the battle seemed won. 'Ryo' who had fought Millenniumon twice was then called to the Digital World, to receive training, to combat his, in a disembodied form, that seemingly was called Moon=Millenniumon," Gaomon continued. Thomas nodded. So far the story seemed fairly straight-forward; fight the monster, save the world. "Once more, the battle was won, though Moon=Millenniumon, as he always would, refused to concede the victory, and sent both himself and 'Ryo' hurtling through space and time, never to return to their own world."

"Th-that's awful!" Yoshino gasped. Why would this 'Millenniumon' have done that? What sort of victory was that? "And did he ever return home?"

"I don't know," Gaomon sighed. "As before, neither side seemed to be winning, despite the setback. The boy had been flung into the distant past, the very first Digital World, where he supposedly encountered the fabled ENIAC, perhaps the closest that there exists in the Digital World to a real and true God."

"ENIAC?" Keiko quizzically asked. "What's 'ENIAC'?"

"Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer," Thomas informed her. "That was the first computer ever created. That would make ENIAC the supercomputer of the Digital World."

"But that legend can't be true, can it, Gaomon?" Lalamon nervously asked. She didn't want to believe it, didn't want to believe that there could exist beings larger than their entire world, beings that wielded power that transcended the Mega-level to a nearly-infinite extent, but Suzie had exhibited abilities that just didn't make sense, namely those cards, whatever they were, and Lopmon was incredibly powerful too. What sort of world could possibly make them so powerful, or even need them to, the bud-Digimon wondered.

Gaomon shook his head, having no idea what to say. "I don't know, Lalamon. On one hand, it seems impossible, but on the other hand, Suzie _does_ seem what she's talking about, with this stuff..."

"Is there more to the story?" Keiko inquired, deciding that there was no harm in him continuing the story, as today's session was nearly over, with only five minutes to go, a brief glance at her wristwatch told her.

"As 'Ryo' had been sent back in time, Millenniumon was sent into the future. The struggle between continued and escalated. This time, every dimension, location and era in all creation served as the battlefield," Gaomon continued.

Yoshi gasped in amazement, trying to figure how a war could ever possibly reach a scale of magnitude like _that!_ Multiple universes, every timeperiod at stake...

"Invariably, Millenniumon would send his forces to wherever 'Ryo' was, and he would in turn fend them off. Some say that the war between them has yet to truly end, that Millenniumon and the boy are still struggling to overcome each-other, somewhere, sometime. Eventually, the feud drew to a close, but not before Millenniumon could impart a final revelation," Gaomon finished.

"What sort of revelation?" Thomas inquired. Gaomon gave an odd smile.

"Isn't it obvious, sir?" The canine-Digimon answered softly. "What single Digimon appears again and again, relentlessly, in all the battles that 'Ryo' fought in?"

Thomas, Yoshino and Keiko gasped in astonishment and horror. He couldn't possibly be implying what they thought him to, could he?

...

...

...

An hour later, in the command center of DATS, Sampson and Marcus were debating the circumstances of the encounter with Merukimon, while Kristy, Gumdramon, Suzie, Lopmon, Thomas, Gaomon, Yoshino and Lalamon stood, and, in Lalamon's case, floated, behind Marcus.

"And you're both certain?" Sampson questioned, deeming it best to eliminate any potential miscommunications. If something related to Spenser Damon had appeared, then it merited further investigation. "Merukimon actually mentioned your father?"

"Yes!" Marcus shouted. "I want to know how that Merukimon knows my father!"

Sampson groaned audibly, as he hadn't expected to have this conversation anytime soon. However, what Marcus said next surprised him and nearly everyone else present greatly. "And I don't care if it's you or Suzie who tells me!"

"Suzie?!" They exclaimed in unison, wondering how in the world she would know that. Suzie kicked herself inwardly, as she hadn't expected anyone to work it out, and not so quickly.

Marcus turned around, and gave the girl an angry look. "I'm right, aren't I?" He inquired of the girl and the rabbit, who nodded in affirmation. Thomas, frankly, had no goddamn idea what he was talking about. "There isn't just a Digimon card game in your world, there's a tv-show too, isn't there? What season is this world?"

"... You're right," Suzie answered, after mild hesitation, much to the shock of everyone present. Most of the alternate versions of the Digidestined and Legendary Warriors, if they found out, rarely took it in stride to know that they were fictional in their universes; some alternates considered it either irrelevant, pretty cool, or a novelty.

Rarely, however, whatever set arrived in their universe managed to accept the notion, with no buzz and no fuzz.

"Season four. And please don't go all existential on me," The maroon-haired girl grumbled. To her own surprise, Yoshino chuckled, as the girl's tone made it sound as though people going 'existential', as she put it, was a frequent occurrence.

"Suzie, of all the things you've told us,_ that _is what I find the hardest to believe," Thomas told her.

"Believe what you want, Thomas," She gave a wide smirk back that simply annoyed him. "I'm just telling you what I know to be true."

Thomas didn't respond, as he couldn't think of a rebuttal to that. Just then, a man, seeming to be in his late forties or early fifties, with a scowling expression, attired in a greyish-brown suit, entered the room, announcing his entrance by hollering 'Sampson!'. The door slid shut behind him, as he walked towards them.

The group looked in his general direction. Everyone save Marcus and Agumon recognized the man as director Hashima. "What do you have to say for yourself?" The diminutive man angrily demanded to know.

Sampson didn't respond, as it was indisputable that they had failed utterly; it had taken the miracle of Suzie and Lopmon to halt that Digimon in its tracks.

"Are you aware of the current state of all of Tokyo?!" Hashima demanded.

"No, director. How bad is it?" Sampson muttered back, inwardly dreading the five words that he knew that he was going to hear.

"That's just it, Sampson," Hashima spoke, sounding genuinely proud of the city. "Over two hours ago, I announced the existence of a government agency who was tasked with keeping invasions from another dimension at bay, and do you know how they reacted?!"

"No, sir," Sampson answered, with a tremble in his voice. He could honestly guess how the citizens would; shock and outrage at their secretive government, mass panic and rioting, or something as frustrating as vindicated conspiracy theorists and alien fanatics. Thomas and Yoshino cringed inwardly, as this would complicate their jobs greatly.

"They handled the revelation admirably, actually," Hashima smiled. Sampson gaped in shock, while everyone, save Suzie and Lopmon, stared blankly at him. "Some of the gathered people thought that it was, and I quote, 'cool', others expressed gratitude towards the government for acting so swiftly to keep them safe, and still expressed an appropriate sense of shock and horror at the realization that they were 'the people in a Godzilla movie'."

"That's... Unexpected," Yoshino laughed nervously. "People seriously didn't...?"

"There were some, but the majority didn't seem too worried," Hashima informed. Truth be told, he suspected that it was denial, moreso than acceptance, but that was perhaps for the best.

"Well, what did you expect, Yoshino?" Suzie laughed. "The average person won't need to consider something like DATS, when doing their shopping, or cooking their meals, or waking up in the morning, or any of their daily activities. It's simply not relevant."

Yoshino blinked in shock, realizing that Suzie actually had a fairly valid point about that. Had something like that happened in her own universe too? Suddenly, Hashima blinked, staring quizzically at Marcus, Suzie and Kristy. Just what had Sampson done this time?! "Who are those children?! Have DATS really stooped so low as to employ child soldiers?!"

Sampson cleared his throat. "They are Marcus Damon, Kristy Damon and Suzie Wong. Suzie is possibly the strangest recruit that is under the employ of DATS."

Hashima's eyes widened at hearing the name 'Damon' uttered from the man. "The children of Spenser Damon?!" He murmured, before sighing. "The older brother can continue to work for DATS, but the girl is too young!" He sternly told the man, pointedly ignoring Kristy's protests.

"I am aware of that, director," Sampson stated succintly. "Moreover, the girl has found a partner Digimon. Related to which is the fact that the Digimon holds some connection to Spencer Damon, who we believe to possibly still be alive."

Hashima stared incredulously at him. Spenser Damon was dead. Nothing could change that. "What evidence do you have of that?"

"Very little," Sampson admitted. "Therefore, I would request permission to deploy agents into the Digital World for a one-day mission, in order to learn more, and possibly find some clue as to Spencer Damon's whereabouts."

Hashima mulled it over. "On a few conditions. One; that you can retain enough agents in this world to handle another Digimon like the one that tore through Arakawa, preferably without the hundreds of casualties. Two; provided that the city remains calm enough in a week to allow it, you can send whomever you wish."

Sampson blinked, as he hadn't expected the man to agree so quickly. "Oh, yes, what did you by, 'strangest recruit', in regard to miss Wong, Sampson?" Hashima off-handedly inquired, having almost forgotten that detail when he mentioned Spencer Damon.

To his mild surprise, the DATS seemed to turn uneasy at the question. Sampson had no idea what to tell him, so he resolved to go with what Suzie had told them. "Ridiculous though I realize it sounds, Suzie and her partner claims to originate from a universe parallel to ours, with its own Digital World."

Hashima barely batted an eye at the outlandish sentence, responding with a disinterested, 'Oh, I see.', surprising Sampson, Thomas, Yoshino and even Suzie, as they hadn't ever expected him to accept something like that so readily. He dismissively responded that given the business DATS was made for, the multiversal business had to happen sometime.

* * *

**Last orders.**

**1) Keiko Kurata isn't actually an OC; she was one of the Dark Spore kids from 02. Yes, I'm aware that she wanted to own and operate a bakery, but who got what they wanted at the time in that ending?**

**2) As for DATS having a psychiatrist on call, I'm going to assume that they aren't complete idiots (which there's no indication of) and presume that there is trained professional staff, medical and psychological, on call to support the field agents. How would they be allowed to operate without it?**

**3) If anyone's confused about Gaomon's story, the reason for including it is simple. **

**Ryo Akiyama. ****Saved The Multiverse. ****Never Forgotten. ****To Bring Back Yesterday.**

**4) The reasoning behind Data Squad being season four in the Tamers world is, well, no Tamers anime.**

**5) Their reaction to learning of the existance of DATS may seem unrealistic, but remember that this is Japan it's set in; the stoicism with which they have handled the assorted calamities that have struck their country is nothing short of awe-inspiring. At least, it is to me.**


	5. Day 02: Another Day, Another Guilmon

The Keeper of Worlds) **Whatever that means...**

**...**

**What I wouldn't give to see more than two or three rooms of the DATS building...**

* * *

About ten minutes after Hashima had left the main room, Thomas, Gaomon, Miki, Megumi and the Pawnchessmon were doing computer work, Kristy was visibly getting restless, and Suzie, Lopmon, Yoshino and Lalamon were nowhere in sight, and Sampson was seated at his 'desk' of sorts, debating with himself who to assign for the Digital World mission.

Marcus was a given, he decided, in light of Agumon achieving his Champion-level so quickly. Within a week, they might unlock the Ultimate-level with little-to-no difficulty, though he doubted that Mega would be possible for a while yet. Marcus' own fighting skills would supplement Agumon's quite nicely, and his determination to find his father would help see them through.

If that Gumdramon could achieve his Champion-level, whatever that would turn out to be, Kristy could provide her brother some help, but conversely, she could just as easily prove a hindrance, as Marcus would likely worry about her safety.

Likewise, Thomas, Yoshino, Gaomon and Lalamon would be greatly helpful in keeping Marcus focused, and would provide ample assistance for them, provided that they would be mentally capable of undertaking the trip.

That left simply Suzie and Lopmon. From what little he could determine, their power exceeded that of the other DATS members to an astounding degree. That, coupled with her extensive supply of cards to strengthen and equip Lopmon, as Marcus' report had claimed, would make them a nearly invaluable asset against whatever they might face over there.

Yet, that self-same enormous power made it essential for them to remain in this world, and keep whatever emerged in their absence at bay. Regardless, he decided it best to examine their exact capabilities, such as what exactly those cards of hers could do; a card that enabled Digivolution at will would be nearly invaluable to DATS.

Elsewhere, in the library-slash-general-information-storage section of the DATS building, Suzie stood leaned against a silvery-grey metallic bookcase that held a row of drawers, two rows of books, and further rows of drawers extending to the ceiling, with Lopmon next to her. Above their heads, near the ceiling was a navy-blue poster with a white, stylized, '02', printed on it.

Sitting on a nearby computer-chair was Yoshino, with Lalamon floating over her shoulder, the senior DATS member's eyes fixed on the deck-box that was attached to her belt, while Lalamon was more impressed that Suzie could remain so immobile, as she showed no sign of the slightest bit of fidgeting.

"Suzie, could you answer some questions for me?" Yoshino asked softly. The girl suspected that she knew perfectly well what they would be. Finding them reasonable, she nodded briefly. "That big pink-white Digimon that Lopmon Digivolved into, just what was that? Because I've looked it up in the DATS database, and it's not there."

"Lopmon's Mega form, Cherubimon," Suzie answered succinctly, smirking. "Just about the most powerful Mega-level out there."

"Yeah, I'll say," Yoshino muttered darkly, as the memory of the battle, Cherubimon electrocuting the other Digimon, and reverting it back into an egg. "But, do you know where that other Digimon came from?"

To Yoshino's confusion, Lopmon frowned, while Suzie maintained her level expression. In truth, the maroon-haired girl did have a theory as to its origin. "Sorry, Yoshi, but I don't think you were thorough enough the last time you guys fought that Diaboromon."

Yoshi and Lalamon stared quizzically at her, wondering what she meant by 'last time', as neither could recall a time where they'd fought anything above the Champion-level, and they were positive that nothing like that Diaboromon had _ever_ arrived in Tokyo. "What do you mean, 'last time'?" The bud-Digimon confusedly asked.

"Remember Neon and Keramon?" Suzie answered. Yoshi winced, as what she'd done to him was one of the things that she regretted about working for DATS. "Diaboromon is the Mega-level of the Keramon species."

"Suzie, we reverted that Keramon to a Digi-Egg, and returned it to the Digital World. There's no way it could be the same one, and even if it was, how could it Digivolve to Mega now, when it didn't reach Ultimate before?!"

"Well, it's happened before. I wouldn't be surprised if it came back for more," Suzie responded. Both Yoshi and Lalamon gaped in abject horror at her statement, dreading what would happen if the Diaboromon was to return. Yoshino trembled at the notion, while Suzie pondered the second question.

In truth, she could think of an explanation for how the Keramon had reached Mega, but it was a relative stretch. "Some Keramon can skip from Rookie straight into the Ultimate-level, but it's not exactly common, and they'll be weaker because of it. Maybe this one managed to skip all the way to Mega, if it is the same one."

Lalamon stared skeptically at her. The Champion and Ultimate levels weren't just levels of power, they were a natural part of the Digimon life-cycle, and could never be skipped; it was impossible, plain and simple. Passed over in split-seconds, yes, but never skipped. Then again, Suzie spouting impossible notions were hardly a surprise at this point. Yoshi decided to change the subject, as there was no point in continuing the conversation thread.

"Second question," Yoshino told her. "What else can you do with those cards? I mean besides Digivolving Lopmon."

"Just about anything we need," Suzie smirked, smirking widely. Lalamon blinked, musing that it honestly didn't seem to be hyperbole, as she seemed to have almost fifty or sixty cards in that box, though she would rather like to know how those cards even worked on Lopmon.

Yoshino was decidedly impressed by her tricks, odd though they were. However, something was still bugging her. "Suzie, are you sure that Hypnos will be alright without you and Lopmon?"

Suzie wondered why this would be the case, realizing abrubtly that they might have given her the wrong impression, considering everything that had happened over the few two days they had been here.

Lopmon was more curious why she sounded so impressed, as while her taking out that Diaboromon might be impressive to an outside observer, in truth it really wasn't, because as far as the ex-Deva could tell, the Diaboromon had been a weaker-than-average Mega, while she was a stronger-than-average Mega.

"They will," She replied, faintly amused. "Henry and the others can handle anything, even _if _something happened in the few minutes me and Lopmon are away. Worst-case scenario, Hypnos will step in with the Juggernaut program."

For the umpteenth time, even for today, Suzie received blank looks from Yoshino and Lalamon. The bud-Digimon mused that given everything else those two had told the other DATS members, that they could return to their own universe but a few minutes after leaving wasn't an impossible notion. Yoshino decided that therapy _really_ would prove beneficial.

However, she couldn't help but wonder how other operatives for 'Hypnos' would prove useful in terms of power. Unless of course, they had partners who could Digivolve to Mega as well, but that seemed somewhat implausible to her, as she and Lalamon had been partners since her childhood, and Lalamon had yet to reach the Ultimate level. Maybe, Yoshino mused, she really was useless...

Lalamon quizzically asked what she meant by minutes, pointing out to Suzie that she'd already been here for two days.

"I know," Suzie smirked. "That's part of the agreement with Ophanimon; I come here for six weeks, and return home in less than five minutes."

Once more, Yoshi and Lalamon stared incredulously at her. So far, everything that Suzie told them just raised further questions. "And, what's the 'Juggernaut program'?" Lalamon curiously asked.

Suzie shared a worried look with Lopmon, unsure of how they would respond to the horrific nature of Yamaki's creation. "The Juggernaut program was created by the man in charge of Hypnos, Mitsuo Yamaki, to draw in all data-based life-forms, and destroy them, without the Digimon getting to re-configure into eggs."

Lalamon and Yoshi gasped in shock. "What kind of psychopath would make something like that?!" Yoshi whispered, horrified, while Lalamon briefly wondered why Suzie had referred to Digimon as 'data-based life-forms'. It technically wasn't a misnomer, but it just seemed odd to her.

Suzie responded with a half-smile. "A man who thought he knew what he was doing."

"The man willingly employs children to fight Digimon, and is practically a cyber-terrorist," Yoshino shot back, with restrained anger. "Pardon me if I don't think that the man knows what he's doing."

Suzie was about to answer, before she heard the tell-tale sound of her D-Arc flicker to life, registering another Bio-Emergence. "Let's see what this world has in store for us, Lopmon."

Back in the main room, Thomas and the others heard the door slide open. Turning around, he saw Yoshi, Lalamon, Suzie and Lopmon enter the room, while Yoshino noted that Sampson, Marcus, Agumon, Kristy and Gumdramon were all missing. She decided that they had left to handle the Digimon.

"So what're we facing here?" Suzie inquired of Miki and Megumi, who were at a loss as to respond, as the Digimon was, like the one that had rampaged through Arakawa, unknown to DATS, with no matches in the database. Indeed, even its energy-signature was different from most other Digimon, nor had they been able to pin-point its level. Through Sampson's comms device, they were able to get visuals of the scene.

To everyone's surprise, Suzie and Lopmon gasped when they recognized the red-skinned reptile. "This is bad..." Suzie grumbled, fretting at the thought of the unimaginable damage that other Guilmon could cause. Lopmon could only agree with her partner, as worst-case scenario, they could wind up dealing with another Megidramon, and they'd barely held their own against the previous one, two years ago.

Yoshi and Lalamon were surprised by her seemingly worried tone. Lopmon had taken a Mega-level without breaking a sweat, and this little one actually made them hesitate? Just what was that?

Lopmon nervously asked Suzie how there even could be another Guilmon without a partner to create him, confusing everyone present. Suzie responded that she had no clue.

"What do you mean, 'create Guilmon'?" Lalamon asked. The two had made quite a number of outlandish claims over the two days they had been here, but to actually create a Digimon... It was impossible, nothing but.

"Without a partner to design a Digimon, and a Blue Card to form that Digimon, it shouldn't even be possible for another Guilmon to exist," Suzie told them. Megumi confusedly asked what a 'Blue Card' was, and how it would ever help create a Digimon. Suzie responded by pulling out a blue card, with a metallic stripe on the left edge and a pixelated image of a yellow D and a dark-blue reptile at the center. "This thing, the Blue Card algorithm. It makes ideas real."

Yoshino recognized the card that Suzie was holding as the same one that she'd used to Digivolve Lopmon to Mega, but wasn't it just the card that she used to Digivolve her partner? How could that possible 'make ideas real'?

Lalamon wasn't sure what was strangest at this point; that Suzie made extraordinary, highly implausible claims, or that she herself was actually still taking it seriously, rather than simply delegate the battles to them.

Miki and Megumi tried not to laugh at her. She seriously believed that card to be an algorithm, when it was utterly impossible to manifest physically? Sure, the Digimon were composed of data as well, but that was an altogether different sort of data than computer algorithms, so there was just no way that it could be true.

Yoshino sighed inwardly that this was the worst. When was Suzie going to say something that made sense? "Yoshi, we need to get over there, _right now, _before they get killed!" Suzie shouted at her.

"What level is that Guilmon?" Yoshino worriedly asked. To everyone's shock, the girl responded that Guilmon was simply a Rookie. "No big deal, then." Yoshino smiled. "GeoGreymon and Gumdramon can handle it then."

Suzie shook her head. "Sadly, they can't. Guilmon is very strong for his level; I doubt that GeoGreymon can handle it. We need to get over there, before he Digivolves!"

"No way!" Yoshino, Lalamon, Miki and Megumi exclaimed. A Rookie-level strong enough to fight GeoGreymon? What kind of Champion-level would a Digimon like that have?!

"It's in area B-7, Yoshi!" Miki told her loudly. Nodding briefly, Yoshino, Lalamon, Suzie and Lopmon left the room, heading for the parking lot.

...

...

...

Elsewhere, on that look-out that Marcus had claimed as his 'turf', Kristy was pretty annoyed with how things were turning out. Those cards that Suzie had given her had turned out to not work very well, as even after she'd used that Strength Plug-In W, or whatever, that other Digimon, a red dinosaur with black markings and golden eyes was still stronger than Gumdramon, and not even GeoGreymon had been able to take it down.

Currently, they stood with their backs to the edge of the look-out, which Gumdramon noted to be a bad position, as they would have much too little space to dodge his attacks, while the red-skinned dinosaur stood where the tree had previously been, snapped like a twig under its left foot.

GeoGreymon roared as he charged at the red-skinned dinosaur. Seemingly smirking, the red-skinned dinosaur sidestepped the attack, with an agility that belied his size, and turned around, declaring his 'Pyro Blaster' at GeoGreymon with a roar, striking him in the back.

"Agumon!" Marcus shouted, as the large dinosaur reverted to his familiar yellow form, running to his partner's side. The other dinosaur cocked his head at the sight, wondering if he was being ignored.

"MARCUS!" Kristy and Gumdramon hollered, as the dinosaur seemingly prepared to unleash another volley of flame at the distracted pair. Marcus and Agumon jerked their heads at the dinosaur, in time to see it prepare another burst of flame, which was cut short by a familiar chocolate-brown hand from behind him keeping its jaws closed.

"We'll have none of that," Antylamon admonished the annoyed Digimon, who growled a barely-understandable demand to her to let go of him. Ignoring him, Antylamon turned her head to look at the other four, while Suzie, Yoshino and Lalamon appeared beside her. "Are you guys alright?" The rabbit softly asked Marcus, Agumon, Kristy and Gumdramon, who all nodded in response, Gumdramon briefly thanking her for saving their asses, earning him a lecture from Marcus regarding his language, which he dismissed as unimportant.

Antylamon decided to see if there was any way to resolve this peacefully, and let go of Guillmon, who turned around to get a measure of his new foe. "Why are you here, Guilmon?" She calmly asked the dinosaur, still somewhat uncomfortable with the notion of a Guilmon, any Guilmon, being a prospective enemy rather than a staunch ally. "Why did you come to this world? Simply to kill humans?"

The dinosaur gave a mocking snort in response. "Yeah, I'm not really all that keen on the 'kill all humans' thing that other Digimon have going. I just want this world's food."

Antylamon sighed in faint exasperation, as that sentiment sounded exactly like something that the Guilmon she was much more familiar with would have expressed. Lalamon was more skeptical, as he claimed not to hold any sort of hatred for humans, but a simple desire to eat. But if so, why had he... In hindsight, the floating Digimon supposed that it was readily apparent why he would have fought Marcus and Agumon.

"Well, we have to send you back to the Digital World," Yoshino told him, while she clutched her Digivice just in case.

Guilmon shot her a look that seemed equally annoyed and bored. "Never."

Antylamon gave him a pleading look. "Please, don't make this any harder than it has to be. We don't want to fight you." She told him calmly. As soon as Antylamon finished, Gumdramon charged at Guilmon, hollering as he swung his tail-hammer directly into the dinosaur's head. It had no effect, other than to make Guilmon shoot Antylamon a displeased look.

"You were saying?" He muttered in annoyance.

"I'm not, at the least," Antylamon sighed. "However, it would still be in your best interests to come quietly, whether as an egg or not."

"I choose 'egg'!" He declared, firing a blast of fire at Antylamon, that she caught with her hand and dispersed. Growling at her, and not one to be deterred, he unleashed a barrage of fireballs at Antylamon, which did just as much visible damage as the first one, yet was starting to cause a mild degree of pain.

"If that is what you choose," Antylamon responded, as just once, she wished that some Digimon, just a single one, would make the smart choice, and surrender rather than throw away their lives.

Kristy watched in shock and horror as the rabbit effortlessly crushed the dinosaur with her hand, realizing just why Suzie had tried to talk her out of this; that sound, that horrible cracking noise that the Digimon had made, was something that she would be re-experiencing in her nightmares, of that she was certain.

Marcus, Agumon, Yoshino, Lalamon, and Gumdramon shared her disgust at the sight, as while the four of them had seen Digimon revert to egg several times before, Lopmon was just... Extraordinarily brutal about it.

Suddenly, Kristy felt a soft hand on her shoulder, and she heard Suzie's voice. "Now you know how horrible it can be to fight Digimon for DATS. Is this still what you want?" She questioned softly. The DATS team turned to look curiously at her, awaiting her answer.

Kristy stammered, unable to respond, contemplating her response. She knew that it hadn't been as violent as it looked, as Guilmon's egg was lying on the ground where he had been, so it had just been a terrible sound. She could cope with that, she could, she really could, she was sure of it, and maybe she'll never have to hear it again.

"You jerk!" She suddenly hollered at Suzie, glaring murderously at her. "You had Lopmon do _that_, just to teach me something?!" She furiously demanded of Suzie, seething and trembling, about ready to have Gumdramon attack her for this. Marcus, Agumon, Lalamon and Yoshino cringed inwardly, as while it was decidedly an extreme way of showing her that, it couldn't really be argued that it wasn't a lesson that she would eventually need to learn.

Suzie sighed, as Kristy's anger was likely justified, but she hadn't really intended any sort of lesson with that; it had simply turned out that way, and she had made the most of the opportunity. "I'm sorry, Kristy, but you have to understand what it is you're accepting, if Gumdramon stays with you. It isn't just fun and games."

"Stay outta this!" Marcus shouted at her. "This is between me and her! What gives you the right to butt in!?"

Lopmon winced inwardly, as it couldn't really be argued that Suzie was overstepping her boundaries on the matter, though she understood her Tamer's reasons for it.

"Admittedly I don't," Suzie conceded. Yoshino mused that her attempt to help was admirable, to a degree, but somehow, she managed to go about in a manner that was both too extreme and too detached. "You're right, Marcus. I don't have the right to get involved. Me and Lopmon came here to help keep this world safe, and make sure that you don't get killed. And right now, Kristy seems to be the only one in danger of that."

Kristy cringed inwardly, as she knew that she likely wasn't the best at the whole fighting Digimon deal, but it was something that she'd had to do, in order to stay with Gumdramon.

However, Marcus was rapidly coming to consider Suzie a freaking hypocrite. She had outright told them, among a lot of other nonsense, that she was only seven years old when she had met Lopmon, when Kristy was ten. _"Still," _A voice in the back of his head told him. _"Chances are, she's got her reasons, and wants to help, at least..."_

Yoshino, on the other hand, had different questions. "Suzie, why didn't you have Lopmon Digivolve to Mega? You guys could've ended this in no time flat!"

Kristy wondered what Yoshi meant. Agumon and Suzie had explained the various strength levels that the Digimon had, Fresh, In-Training, Rookie, Champion, Ultimate and Mega, and had warned her and Gumdramon not to challenge anything above a Rookie alone, but wasn't the large rabbit Lopmon's Mega form? She had assumed that it was, since she had easily taken down the Guilmon that Gumdramon and GeoGreymon had struggled with.

Marcus realized that Yoshi was right; a Mega like that Cherubimon, or whatever, should've ended that fight in literally a splitsecond. Why hadn't she?

"One; that would've been overkill," Suzie answered. Yoshino supposed that it would've been. "Two; Cherubimon takes a lotta power to hold. Even now, she's only up to about five minutes at a time."

Lalamon and Agumon blinked in surprise. Only five minutes? It had already been about ten minutes, by Agumon's estimate, since she assumed her Ultimate form, yet she didn't seem tired at all.

* * *

**Well, so far, everything is proceeding well.**

**Chapter notes.**

**1) Marcus and Kristy calling out Suzie for intruding in things that weren't her business was basically my trying to make her less of a Mary-Sue (Mega-level partner in a World of Champion, etc, etc).**

**2) Lopmon's Mega form having such a short duration is because we've never really seen how long a standard Mega-level would last in Tamers. **

**Megidramon was a weak one, despite the Digital Hazard, Beelzemon had a powerboost from Zhuqiaomon to lock him in that form, and later two Tamers, the Bio-Merge Megas were sustained by their partners as well, and MarineAngemon's base form was the Mega-level.**

**Given all that, it may be a cheap plot-device, but it's not entirely unreasonable.**


	6. Day 02: One Last Thing

The Keeper of Worlds) **I know, biggo. Depth of character? You mean trying to avoid a Mary Sue? or Mary Suzie, technically. As for the DATS team interactions, it'll get there.**

**Time for a shortie.**

* * *

Within the frigid depths of the Infinite Ice Ridge, Merukimon stood in a hall located below his throne-room, pondering his next move against the humans. Before him were two pedestals, each one holding several artifacts. On the one to the right rested fifteen objects, while on the other were twenty statues.

Merukimon smirked inwardly. Procuring the Digimentals of legend as well as the Spirits of the ten Legendary Warriors had been no easy task; in fact, it had been a lengthy journey scouring every part of the Digital World, an undertaking which had lasted several years, but had been oh-so-worth the wait.

However, something about the fifteen Digimentals simply confused him. Supposedly, they wielded a power akin to the Spirits, yet unlike the Spirits, which were arranged in symmetries and pairs, Human and Beast, Flame and Water, Light and Darkness, Earth and Wind, Thunder and Steel, Ice and Wood, there was no such overarching or underlying theme or pattern to be found within the Digimentals.

Some of the fifteen did, however contrast each-other, such as the Miracle and Fate, and the Light and Darkness Digimentals, but to Merukimon, that seemed nothing but coincidence. Perhaps, he mused, he hadn't approached the matter from a large-enough perspective.

Perhaps, the Digimentals were simply the 'Beast' counterpart, wild, disorderly and forceful, to the 'Human' quality, rational, methodical and restrained, that the Spirits embodied.

Regardless, he had to be certain; he wasn't about to rely on objects that he did not understand fully. Certainly, the possibility of examining the data that comprised the ancient artifacts, forcing them to his will and every whim, was open to him, but Merukimon was not ashamed to admit that he was no god, even if he possessed the power to manipulate data; the Digimentals and Spirits were incredible items, capable of bestowing incredibly power upon their wielders, and, in the case of the Spirits, seemingly generate limitless amounts of energy; tampering with them would likely do more harm than good.

Similarly, even if he could do so safely, there was still the problem of wielders and hosts. The Spirits could merge with just about any Digimon in existence, but the Digimentals were considerably more specific about their wielders; whatever criteria they required to be fulfilled, he himself met none of them, while Gotsumon had managed to activate the Friendship Digimental, so evidently it wasn't a matter of power, as the Champion-level rock-Digimon had done so, when neither he or Falcomon could.

However, he had other concerns, namely the Damon children. If their father was any indication, they were an imaginative pair, and unyielding in combat. He doubted that he would ever have thought of what Spencer had suggested, all those years ago.

As of now, however, the Agumon that older child had enslaved had only reached the Champion-level, while the Gumdramon that claimed to prefer the younger child's company to his could seemingly go no further than the lowly Rookie-level.

However, Merukimon was not a fool either; if a species as warlike as humans could manage to survive for centuries if not millennia, they weren't to be taken lightly, even if their survival had been caused by luck, so he deemed it appropriate to take their measure.

From what little he could tell, the majority of the humans commanded Champion-levels, along with one Ultimate-level, and one Rookie-level.

Chivalry dictated to send three of the Human Spirits, one of the Beast Spirits, and a Digimental-wielder, one for each of them to fight. However, logic dictated to send all ten Human Spirits, all ten Beast Spirits and all fifteen Digimentals attached to a suitable wielder, along with himself, Keenan and Falcomon.

Though it was an extreme action, it was preferable to sending them one after the other, or in groups of two or three, and have the humans possibly get their hands on the Digimentals or Spirits.


	7. Day 06: Gumdramon's Day Off

4Fireking) **Is that so?**

The Keeper of Worlds) **Flamedramon vs GeoGreymon, Raidramon vs Gaogamon, Shurimon vs Sunflowmon, Peacockmon (Falcomon/Miracle) vs Antylamon and Gotsumon vs Gumdramon (Strength & Speed Cards) all sound like fair fights, don't they? **

**Well, no. Near as I can tell, Armor/Human Hybrid levels are in-between Champion/Ultimate, and as for Miracle/Fate/Beast Hybrid, in-between Ultimate/Mega. Fusion Hybrids? Between Mega / Super Ultimate/Ultra/Chou Kyukyokutai/Burst Mode/Level VII. Transcendent forms? _Above_ that...**

**And that's assuming that it's one-on-one. Which it won't be.**

* * *

Atop a bank near where Kristy, Marcus, Agumon, Sarah, and for the duration of their stay, Suzie and Lopmon, lived, sat Gumdramon, feeling, for the lack of better terms, just a teensy bit annoyed and wary.

His first two days in this world had been hectic to say the least, with Falcomon showing up and getting soundly beaten by Marcus and Turuiemon, followed by Merukimon showing up, claiming him to be special.

Gumdramon smirked. As if Merukimon had ever been necessary to point that out...

After that, the Digimon activity in the city had calmed greatly, with literally none over the three days since, giving Suzie and Lopmon more than enough time to practice using those cards at Kristy's urging, after school.

He sighed inwardly at the memory at that, 'practice', as it had amounted to Turuiemon avoiding all his attacks like it was nothing, while trying her hardest not to revert him to a Digi-Egg. His tail still felt sore after yesterday.

He wasn't even sure why he felt a need to come up here. Something about this height, the peace and quiet up here, and watching the people of the city skitter about, just fascinated him.

Besides, it wasn't as though he had anything better to do, as Kristy was in school for another hour, and as DATS had gone public, there was no real danger in people spotting him.

However, the enjoyability of the experience was lessened somewhat by the human in the white-grey shirt and black pants, telling him that he had to leave, and asking whether he ought to be in school.

"Yeah, whatever," He grumbled at the man, shouting down to the people on the street that they should make some room. The people looked around quizzically, wondering who had yelled that at them, and why whoever it was wanted them to clear out from in front of the bank, though some of them acceded, as they saw no harm in doing so. Gumdramon watched with vested interest, as about enough of them had given enough space for a crash-landing.

The security guard immediately became alarmed, hoping strongly that the child in the costume wasn't planning to jump off the edge. "NO WAIT! DON'T DO THIS!" He hollered at Gumdramon, as the dinosaur prepared to step off.

In truth, the mini-dragon didn't really care what the human had to say; he wasn't Kristy, or Sarah, or Marcus, and it wasn't as though he was leaping off the roof for no reason. The people down on the street screamed in panic as the purple dragon took a small leap forward, and fell straight down.

The fall happened at a remarkable speed, Gumdramon off-handedly noted. Less than three seconds, if he counted correctly, before he impacted into the side-walk, the concrete visibly cracked where he had landed, a ring-like cloud of dust appearing around him.

Around him, people stared incredulously at him, speechless with shock over what he had just done. Gumdramon smirked, as disregarding some discomfort, he was barely hurt by it.

"W-wh-what are you!?" One of the people present, a dark-haired, green-eyed woman, exclaimed frantically at the sight of a about two meters tall draconic thing leaping off a building, and surviving unscathed.

"Just testing out the new body," Gumdramon replied off-handedly, with a faint growl to his level tone. The people looked incredulously at him, wondering what the creature meant by, 'new body', since that sort of technology was outside what their society was capable of. "And gotta say, it feels great!"

"You were one of those creatures with the Damons that fought that dinosaur up on Marcus' turf a few days ago!" Another person, a bespectacled teen, realized. People stared blankly at him, wondering what in the world he was referring to. 'Damon' was that local delinquent, but how the hell had he gotten involved with dragons and dinosaurs duking it out in ?

_"Hold on..." _One of the present men thought. He had said, 'Damons', plural. Did that imply that the father or mother of the family, or god forbid, another of their children, was involved in something so dangerous? It seemed downright irresponsible to him to allow children to fight, but he surmised that whatever that agency was called, they

"You got that right," The miniature dragon chuckled. Then, without warning, his short wings started to flap as he took off into the sky.

...

...

...

Elsewhere, about half an hour later, Sarah was busy with her laundry, humming to herself. Per her request, Suzie was off running some errands, leaving Lopmon who was sleeping on the couch, mumbling something that she hadn't quite been able to make out, though it sounded like, 'moment', or something in that direction.

Marcus and Kristy were both in school, and Agumon in the Digivice, so it looked to be a quiet morning in the household. However, Gumdramon's whereabouts worried her slightly, as he had left an hour ago, saying that he was going to have a looksee of his surroundings. He had responded to her concerns on the matter by pointing out that since DATS was now functionally public, there was no danger in him being spotted, through he had promised to stay out of sight regardless.

In hindsight, trusting him so easily had been a mistake somewhat, she realized as she heard the tell-tale sound of a police car speeding by her house. Suddenly, she heard the soft sounds of flapping wings above her, and Gumdramon landed a distance away, his back turned to her.

The mini-dragon turned around, and gave her a wide grin. "Well, doesn't _this _seem familiar?"

"Yes, it certainly does," Sarah chuckled, wondering what it was, about this back-yard and this Digimon. Slowly, her smile faded, and she gave Gumdramon a worried look. "Is there something going on, Gumdramon?"

"Nope," The dragon smirked back, not assuaging her in the slightest. "Although, I think that I need to lie low for a while; I might've caused a bit of trouble, you see."

Sarah sighed. Though she knew that Kristy cared deeply about the dragon, she couldn't allow the hooligan Digimon to live with them. "And what sort of mayhem did you cause?" She sternly asked the Digimon.

"Nothing serious," He chuckled nervously. "Just a mild bit of panic."

"What a relief," Sarah shook her head. At least, she considered it be relieving that he'd caused no worse than mild panic.

* * *

**Chapter notes**

**1) Gumdramon jumping off a roof may seem weird, or downright suicidal, but really he's just being himself. Himself being a raving psycho.**

**2) Yes, Gumdramon knows a lot of things that he ought not to, like what seconds are, but then again, Biyomon shouldn't have spoken fluent english/japanese when he reached his Rookie-level, so knowledge-upload can be proven to occur in some cases.**


	8. Day 08: Arrival of Arresterdramon!

**Review Responses**

The Keeper of Worlds) Of course, there's a bit of Fridge Horror there; if all Gumdramon does is act according to his species-description, how much free will has he really got?

**...**

**You! Yeah, you there, fourth seat, third row: ****_Are you trying to get killed, dumbass?!_**** Still, I appreciate the commentary. Secondly, to clarify on the time-skips, there would be no real reason to cover all the day-to-day stuff.**

* * *

_DATS HQ, command center_

At Miki's workstation, Kristy sat leaned back, attired in a purple variation of Yoshino's uniform, while Gumdramon stood beside her, both watching Thomas with interest as he examined their D-Arc, with a cable plugged into it, though why he was even doing it eluded them both.

Thomas, on the other hand, was nothing short of astounded by the sheer complexity of the device, as its contents unfolded on the screen in front of him, causing mild latency with the enormity of it.

Seemingly, it was loaded with countless Gigabyte, nearly a Terabyte, of Digimon data, including several that DATS' databases made no mention of, mostly Mega-levels, though some of the Ultimates and Champions had no matches in the databases either.

Indeed, he wasn't sure what to make of some of the entries, as Digmon was listed as being neither at the Rookie, Champion, Ultimate or Mega levels, but what the D-Arc's database referred to as 'Armor', whatever that referred to, along with several others.

Right now, Thomas really wished that Suzie was around, to give some answers about this new level of Digivolution. Gaomon blinked when he saw the term, 'Armor' in relation to Digmon.

Thomas noted his partner's surprised expression, asking whether he recognized the term, the canine responding in the positive.

"It's supposedly a level outside the standard progression, sir," Gaomon spoke. Thomas gave him an interested look, as he'd never heard anything about Digivolution-levels like that. "According to a legend in the Digital World, a number of artifacts called, 'Digimentals', would allow a suitable Digimon to tap into its power, causing it to exceed the Champion-level, or even exceed Ultimate."

Behind the two, Gumdramon smirked to Kristy, who smirked back, wordlessly agreeing that come morning, they were going Digimental-hunting. With power like that, Gumdramon thought, they could find Kristy's and Marcus' father in no time.

Outside, on the roof-top, Suzie sat in a legged position, her arms folded, while Lopmon stood beside her. The two sat quietly, Suzie's hair swaying in the faintly chilly winds, watching the city below, both deep in thought.

She hadn't noticed it at the time, but Agumon, Gaomon and Lalamon hadn't been surprised by her mentioning the Sovereign and Deva, the Demon Lords, Megidramon and the Great Angels.

Rather, they had been skeptical, leading her to wonder how they could possibly know of those Digimon, considering that what little she remembered of Data Squad establishing that they had been brought into the this world as eggs.

Had the DATS databases told them all that? She decided that that likely wasn't the explanation, as Agumon wasn't the type, and Marcus, Thomas and Yoshino would've learned of it if they had.

Next, she wondered whether they had somehow spontaneously, 'learned', all that when they Digivolved to Rookie. That would also explain how Gumdramon had learned fluent japanese when he Digivolved to Rookie. She decided that it likely wasn't the answer either, as it made little sense to her.

Perhaps, she mused, it was another side-effect of her and Lopmon entering this timeline. Everything she'd learned about time, over the years with the others and Hypnos, indicated that time was akin to a river, and anything, the smallest changest, could cause that river to branch off in a new direction, or even multiple ones.

After all, if they had influenced the future in both subtle and overt ways simply by arriving here, as evidenced by Gumdramon hatching here, that was to say, making ripples _down_-stream, who was to say that ripples _up-_stream were impossible?

She shuddered at the implications when she finished the thought; if it was true, how many times had their universe been re-written, by people from alternate timelines and universes, and by nearly godlike Digimon? A hundred? A thousand? A hundred thousand?

In the corner of the rabbit's eye, Lopmon watched a faint smile form on Suzie's face. "It doesn't matter, does it, Lopmon?" She asked softly.

"I suppose not, Suzie," Lopmon whispered back, wondering briefly how her Tamer had known that she was in the mood for a pizza or twelve, which she really would've liked; they were just so tasty.

Suddenly, Suzie spotted a car driving out from the DATS parking lot, looking to be in a hurry, while in her pocket, they heard the familiar noise, a noise between a beep and a click, from her D-Arc.

"Whattaya think, Lopmon? Champion or Ultimate?" Suzie smirked at the rabbit, looking at the D-Arc, which pointed to the north-west. The bunny briefly considered the question, deeming her Ultimate form best, as the enormous power of her Mega-form wouldn't do much, and the Turuiemon form would be weighed down too much by the girl.

"Antylamon sounds best," Lopmon answered. Suzie nodded, sliding the Blue Card through her D-Arc, followed by the Hyper Wings, and soon, the citizens of Tokyo, at least, those who looked up, were treated to the highly unusual sight of a colossal flying rabbit.

All agreed that society was becoming a strange place, and stranger still, by the minute. Shrugging that it hardly mattered as long as people weren't getting mowed down, they returned to go about their business.

...

...

...

Outside the Manju bakery, Connor watched with his father as what appeared to be a five-meters tall orange T-rex and a two-meters tall purple dragon duked it out with a tall yellow fox. Somehow, neither parent or child were greatly surprised at seeing Marcus join the fray.

Kristy looked frantically at the cards, trying to pick one, before Renamon appeared a distance in the air, smirking, as his target was completely open.

"KRISTY!" Gumdramon, GeoGreymon and Marcus screamed, while the girl yelped, frozen with panic, as the shards flew at her, instinctively closing her eyes, preparing for her early death.

A few seconds later, she was surprised when the attack didn't hit her, and she heard Gumdramon whether she was okay, referring to her as 'kid'. Apprehensively, she opened an eye. The world seemed to fade away when she saw Gumdramon wincing in pain, with several of the shards protruding from his back.

"GUMDRAMON!" Kristy cried at the sight of her partner in agony. Marcus and GeoGreymon turned to Renamon, scowling, hellbent on revenge, when suddenly, a large soft-brown hand appeared, grabbing firm hold of the fox, ending the battle, while Suzie ran down the street towards the group.

Lopmon, no matter what form she took, didn't appreciate anyone, human or Digimon, picking on someone smaller or less powerful than themselves, she informed the squirming Renamon and the group, continuing to say that right now, the fox had done so, and sealed his own fate.

Marcus and GeoGreymon watched in shock as Renamon's body was shattered under Antylamon's grip, and reformed into an egg.

"Are you okay, kid?" Gumdramon worriedly asked, wincing. She incredulously shouted that he should worry about himself, and hugged the dragon. He winced when she did, both from the pain of the attack, and something else.

Suddenly, he felt some warmth, some incredible power surging through him, almost to the point of overwhelming him.

Kristy was a bit confused when he asked her to stand back a little, but complied regardless. Everyone present blinked when the familiar energy-ring signaling a Digivolution appeared around him, passing over him from the feet up.

However, the new creature in Gumdramon's place was radically different from what had just been there.

This dragon had tripled in height, standing at almost seven meters, his body covered in armor composed of a rubberlike material, the red vest having grown to cover more of his torso, as well as his wings, which now jutted outwards from his back.

Unlike Gumdramon, this dragon had curved white claws protruding from its feet, which were covered in orange boots, cut to expose his toes that were somehow segmented into three portions.

It sported large orange gloves on its three-fingered hands, with three silvery platings on the back of the gauntlets.

The tail had lengthened greatly, and wielded a trident.

Suzie blinked, as this Arresterdramon lacked the black garments that the species normally had.

Kristy reached for her D-Arc, wanting to know exactly what her Gumdramon had just become. The familiar display formed almost immediately. _"Arresterdramon. Level: Champion. Attribute: Data. Type: Dragon. Attacks include Mach Flicker, Eraser Frog Shot, and Prism Gallet."_

"Whatta ya think of this body, Kristy?" Arresterdramon grinned at the girl, who smirked back, saying that he looked awesome, while Marcus and Agumon shared a worried look, knowing that she'll likely insist on going to the Digital World now Gumdramon could Digivolve to the Champion-level.

Within the bakery, Connor and his father watched in bewilderment at what had just happened. How in the world had that dragon become several times larger, Connor wondered.

Elsewhere, within the DATS building, in a moderately well-lit room that used to be the research area of Akihiro Kurata, two people, a young man and a woman, were studying the contents of a computer screen, smirking wildly at the thought of what was about to occur.

"A thousand Gizumon," The woman laughed heartily. "Five-hundred Gizumon AT, one-hundred Gizumon XT, the Belphemon project. Kurata truly was a genius!"

"How long until completion?" The man asked.

"At the current rate, thirteen days and seven hours," The woman answered.

"Soon, we'll avenge Kurata!" The man declared loudly.

* * *

**Geez, maybe killing off Kurata wasn't a good move; no Kurata means no Mega-level Bio-Hybrids, no dimensionally-transplanted Eldradimon, no royally ticked off King (Ygg)Drasil, and countless other entertaining stuff...**

**Meh, it's better in the long run.**

**1) If you disagree with Arresterdramon's Level/Attribute, that's too bad, I'm not changing it.**


	9. Day 09: Into The Digital World!

**Review Responses**

The Keeper of Worlds) **Actually, that's, well... We'll find out soon enough. Suffice to say. they aren't exactly strangers.**

* * *

The next morning, Marcus, Agumon, Kristy, Gumdramon, Thomas, Gaomon, Yoshi, Lalamon, Suzie and Lopmon were gathered in the DATS command center, while commander Sampson and Kudamon were seated at the main computer.

However, everyone were more interested in what Marcus and Kristy had brought along, namely a big box wrapped in purple fabric.

"What, pray tell, is this?" Thomas inquired, inspecting their acquisition. Kristy cheerfully informed him that it was lunch for everybody, courtesy of her mom. "Kristy, this isn't a picnic." Thomas annoyedly responded. Kristy pouted that she knew that, and added that she thought the food to be helpful.

Gumdramon smirked at him, joking that there was more for Agumon then, and Marcus added that Gaomon could share too. The boxer looked alarmed at the thought, hurrying to inform Thomas that he would appreciate his share.

"Let's hope that lunch is our biggest problem on this trip," Lalamon spoke, earning agreement from Yoshino.

"Well, we have some equipment for you," Miki informed the group, holding a PDA-like device in her right hand, and a device that resembled both an outdated phone and a taser in her left. "The smaller one will capture the energy of a Digimon, and the larger one should make even Mega-levels think twice."

Nearby, Agumon was fiddling with a few stick-like objects, and was summarily admonished by Miki not to play with them, explaining that they were called denso-markers, designed to aid in their extraction from the Digital World.

"Thomas, Yoshi, Lalamon, Gaomon," Sampson spoke to them, the four giving the man their rapt attentions. "The psychiatric evaluations indicate that you're fit to resume active duty. However, I have no intention of forcing you to go. The choice remains in your hands."

"Understood, sir," Thomas answered sternly, continuing that his choice was to set out for the Digital World, to aid in the search for Spencer Damon, with Gaomon, Yoshi and Lalamon echoing his sentiment. With that, Sampson considered the matter settled, until Marcus spoke up, that was.

"Kristy isn't going," Marcus scowled, his tone brooking no argument. Sampson, Thomas and Suzie agreed that it was likely the best course of action; even if Kristy had a D-Arc and cards, which none of them, save Suzie, had, she also had very little combat experience, little mental maturity to weather what she would be exposed to in the Digital World, and no DNA Charge to aid her.

"I am, and you can't talk me out of it," Kristy retorted angrily. Marcus glared at her, wondering why she had to pick _now _of all times to be so infuriatingly stubborn.

Thomas and Yoshino sighed, as this was the worst time for a sibling squabble. Gumdramon decided to simply enjoy the show, while Agumon and Lalamon watched, visibly worried.

"Kristy, you're not ready, and we have Suzie with us; we don't need you!" Marcus told his sister, who gasped in shock at what her brother had told her. An awkward silence descended over the command center, as the ten-year old looked at her older brother, shocked and jhurt.

"Well, maybe I don't need you, either," She angrily told her brother. In that moment, Suzie couldn't help but feel that Kristy reminded her of Rika. "I'm going, and that's final, Marcus."

"And we're not, guys," Suzie told them. Yoshino, Lalamon and Kristy froze in shock and panic, really, _really _hoping that she hadn't just said that. Gumdramon grumbled that the big guns were staying behind, knowing that it complicated everything greatly; Suzie and Lopmon were barely challenged by the sort of Digimon that everyone else would struggle with, after all.

Thomas supposed that it rather had been to be expected; with everyone in the Digital World, they needed someone in this world, just in case an Ultimate or Mega-level showed up.

"Me and Lopmon are going to stay in this world, until you get back," Suzie told them. Yoshino sighed that this was the worst.

She understood the need for someone to stay behind perfectly well, and since Lopmon was the only Mega-level on their side, that made them the best candidates, but what good was a handful of Champion-levels going to be?

A part of the group watched as she suddenly reached for her belt-box, pulling out a small stack of cards, shuffling through them, deciding that those two wouldn't be missed too greatly.

She placed most of them back in her belt-box, keeping her left arm at her side, holding a card, while she held the other card close to her, her eyes fixed on it. Marcus and Thomas wondered briefly what she was doing, and whether she expected something to happen.

Suzie sighed inwardly, as in hindsight, making Blue Cards here really would be impossible; one thing was the cards still working, even on Gumdramon, but successfully creating Blue Cards was probably too much to hope for. Suzie handed the cards to Kristy, who accepted them mildly hesitantly.

"Did you remember to bring your other cards?" Suzie asked, while Kristy and Marcus looked at the cards, one of them holding the design of a soft-golden shield engraved with a starlike marking, while the other held the image of a trident-like sword.

Kristy nodded, thanking her for these two, positive that Arresterdramon would be invincible with her seven cards. A Digivolution card, cards to enhance strength, speed, defense and stamina, and now, the Brave Shield and Dramon Breaker, Suzie noted. The younger girl's array was becoming more and more powerful, in terms of sheer power, at least.

"You've all been equipped as best you could," Sampson spoke. Thomas was more curious as to what exactly those trading cards were going to be good for in the Digital World.

Soon after, Marcus, Kristy, Gumdramon, Yoshino and Thomas stood in the transfer cylinder. Beneath their feet, the elaborate circular design shone with blazing-emerald light.

"Digital harmonizer; aligning!" Miki spoke loudly. "Bionic condenser coming on-line now!

"Coordinates are entered and locked!" Megumi declared. "Digital code recognized!"

"The Digi-gate is open," Miki continued. Above their heads, Kristy watched a spiral of golden energy emerge from the top of the machinery, washing over them, and soon, a blinding light shone from the machine, sending them into the Digital World.

For about a second, Kristy was disoriented, as she was in some dark place, with lines of glowing whitish-blue letters flying up and down. Elsewhere, Merukimon felt it, a restless stirring as the streams of data that composed his world were disrupted by some new force, like drops of water in the ocean, which he recognized all too well.

He smirked almost imperceptibly, as this was the perfect opportunity to test out his new fighting force.

Within a forest, Keenan watched with anxiety as a beam of light descended from the heavens, bringing with it vile creatures, to menace his world, as they had once, and undoubtedly would again.

Kristy and Gumdramon briefly scanned their surroundings. Whatever the pair had expected from a place called the Digital World, that was home to such a diverse range of creatures, it certainly hadn't been a large forest, with clear-azure skies, and rocks floating around in the air- Okay, maybe there were differences after all, Gumdramon mused.

They were snapped back to the matter at hand, when Thomas abrubtly informed them that their supplies had arrived, and they ran towards the part of the forest where the second beam had touched down.

When they reached the second clearing, however, they saw the storage unit get smashed to pieces, and dissolve into stray data, by several golden laser-blasts.

Everyone gasped at the sight, bringing out their partners, while Kristy Digivolved the mini-dragon to Arresterdramon just in case things went south. Up on a nearby branch, in the shadows, Keenan stood, scoffing at their wasted efforts; with everything that Merukimon had done to keep the Digimon safe, not even a Mega-level could stand a chance.

Beside him was a bipedal winged creature, clad in blue body armor, laserblades extended from its arms.

Suddenly, the group spotted four new arrivals from each direction of the forest.

From the east appeared an orange-skinned pegasus-like creature, clad in pale-golden ornately-designed armor, its golden wings spread wide, seemingly bristling at the mere sight of them.

From the west appeared a white-skinned sphinx-like creature, with disproportionately-large vambraces on the ankles of its fore-legs. Its expression was stoic and distant, yet its disdain for them was readily apparent still.

From the north appeared a bipedal blue-skinned creature with blazing crimson eyes. Its hands, kneecaps, feets and forehead were all covered in the same thing, a red-and-yellow plating that was separated in a lower and upper half by a orange flame-like pattern. Growing from its hands and feet were three long white claws, and from the head protruded a blade-like horn.

From the south appeared a quadrupedal black-skinned dog-like creature, with a thunderbolt-like horn protruding from its forehead, and a further three protruding from its back, though these were jet-black.

Kristy really wished that her D-Arc would've come with a manual, as right now, it kept switching between the four, the images and data about each of them replacing each-other before she could make out what they said, though one detail remained the same for them all.

Kristy grinned widely at the fact that they were Armor-level, every one of them, while Marcus and Agumon cheered in anticipation of a fight, which they quickly came to regret.

Thomas cursed inwardly, as they had only barely held their own, GeoGreymon against Flamedramon, Gaogamon against Raidramon, Arresterdramon with the Dramon Destroyer, which he didn't understand how Kristy had created for him, against Nefertimon, and Sunflowmon against Pegasusmon.

However, the tide of the battle had truly turned against them when a few more of those Armor-levels showed up. He wasn't even sure how long they had been fighting; about five minutes, he mused, but likely less.

Suddenly, crimson bolts of crackling lightning rained down from the heavens, reverting every single one of the nine Armor Digimon to eggs, while a large shadow fell over the area. To everyone's surprise, those eggs were accompanied with strange artifacts, that Thomas, Gaomon, Kristy and Gumdramon surmised to be the Digimentals.

When everyone looked up, the Armor Digimon recoiled in fear at the sight. Yoshino stared in awe, having finally witnessed the wrath of god, now fully aware that it looked like a big pinkish-white smiling rabbit with black beady eyes.

"**Are you in need of assistance?**" Cherubimon's soft voice boomed, sounding to contain enough force to uproot every tree in the entire forest with but an faint utterance.

From the forest, Suzie appeared, grinning, explaining to Thomas that after DATS lost contact with the equipment, they sent her and Lopmon to be on the safe side.

The assembled humans and partner Digimon stared disbelievingly at Lopmon's Mega-form. Though both Gaomon and Lalamon had seen the form before, it had been too briefly to get a good look it her.

_This_, Lalamon thought, was what it meant to be a Mega-level, this overwhelming sensation of unbridled power pouring off her, brief and bounded though it was... She was certain that the others felt it too.

Just being this close to her, around the rabbit, made Lalamon acutely aware that she was still only a Rookie-level...

Thomas and Gaomon blinked, alarmed as Cherubimon slowly began to dissolve into soft-white light, Lopmon's weary body falling through the air, ready for Suzie to catch her, while Yoshino realized that she'd forgotten to mention Lopmon's handicap in terms of Digivolution time to the two.

Suddenly, a familiar Digimon appeared, scanning the area briefly, looking to be positively livid. Yoshino and Thomas took cautious steps back, knowing that with Lopmon, the only Mega on their side out of commission, their chances of defeating Merukimon were slim.

Merukimon sighed inwardly in exasperation; the Digimentals of Courage, Friendship, Hope, Light, Kindness, Knowledge, Pride, Desire and Tenacity were all scattered around on the ground, beside the egg of their respective wielders, making the fact that Falcomon wasn't among the fallen a small comfort.

He suspected that Keenan's recklessness was at fault here, given that the Digimental-wielding Digimon had been sent to where the humans were, to bring them to him, as he also suspected to know their reasons for coming.

"I take it you have come to find Spencer Damon?" The shaman knowingly asked, as these humans hadn't been the first ones determined to locate the legendary hero. Indeed, he himself had embarked on that fool's errand when he scoured nearly the entire Digital World for the Digimentals and Spirits, finding no trace of the man.

The group looked confusedly at each-other, wondering how Merukimon had known that. Kristy nodded in comfirmation, while Yoshino visibly relaxed, as he didn't seem to be hostile.

"Then, you are to be sorely disappointed," Merukimon spoke. "I know not Spencer Damon's whereabouts; indeed, I have visited nearly every corner of this world in my searches."

"Nearly?" Kristy sharply asked. If there was a place where Merukimon hadn't looked, then dad had to be _there! _"Where haven't you looked?"

The DATS members and their partners looked hopefully up at Merukimon, while the shaman sighed in exasperation, as he would've preferred not to be reminded of his failed journey to that vaunted mountain.

Thomas wondered briefly how Merukimon, a Mega-level had failed to search somewhere. Was this location distant from the Infinite Ice Ridge? He couldn't have been barred access, as who would prevent a Mega-level like him from entering any place, when he had already been everywhere else?

Suddenly, Merukimon turned to look in the direction that Thomas assumed was north. "...Head north, toward the ocean. There, you should find BanchoLeomon. At the very least, I know that he was with Spencer Damon before his disappearance long years ago. He will take you there, to Spiral Mountain."

Kristy cheered inwardly, having at last a clue about where dad might be. The other Digimon present stared quizzically at Merukimon, as none of them had ever heard of Spiral Mountain.

Suzie and Lopmon recognized the name from the first series, but that version of Spiral Mountain had been what the Digital World was transformed into after the Dark Masters re-formatted that world.

Since this Digital World was intact, or seemed to be, the rabbit wondered what this Spiral Mountain was.

"Thanks," Marcus grinned at him. Thomas couldn't help but consider Marcus foolish for trusting Merukimon so easily, when he had provided no evidence for the existences of either BanchoLeomon or Spiral Mountain. This might well be a trap, the blond decided, knowing that far be it from Marcus to look before leaping. "We'll leave right away."

"Lastly, Keenan, Falcomon," Merukimon declared, confusing the group, as none of them were called Keenan, while they recognized Falcomon. Suddenly, there was a rustling noise from a nearby tree. "I ask you now to accompany these humans to BanchoLeomon's cottage, and continue your training under his tutelage."

Suddenly, a young boy, in a pale yellow shirt and loose orange shorts, and a large bird-like creature leapt out from the forest, landing at Merukimon's side, startling Agumon, Kristy and Yoshino.

"Me no travel with hu-mons!" The boy hollered angrily at Merukimon. Yoshino blinked at the sight of a human child in the Digital World, wondering why he spoke in broken japanese.

Merukimon was occupied by something else, namely the Lopmon that the girl was holding. Glaring furiously at the humans, he demanded to know what they had done to the rabbit-like Digimon.

Thomas had no clue what he referred to, and told him as much, while Suzie and Lopmon froze momentarily in surprise. Was Merukimon really able to sense her being different than Agumon, Gaomon, Lalamon and Gumdramon? It seemed like an ability that only the Sovereign should possess, and Merukimon was no sovereign.

"Don't spout such lies!" Merukimon roared. "To think that you would render a Digimon mortal like you have..."

"Mortal?!" Everyone save Suzie and Lopmon exclaimed in disbelief, looking at the two, wondering whether Merukimon was serious. Digimon were functionally immortal, and even in the event of mortal injury, they would simply re-configure into Digi-Eggs, to begin their lives anew.

That was common knowledge, Agumon thought. Even he knew that bit, so why would Merukimon think that Lopmon was mortal?

"Actually, that's normal for Digimon in our universe," Suzie informed. Everyone promptly gave her incredulous and disturbed looks, wondering what sort of unnatural, screwed-up universe she was from, when the Digimon there were... Mortal, like humans...

Yoshino had understood that Suzie's universe was different from theirs, but this was still hard to believe, even considering everything that she had told them. Suddenly, the girl pulled out her familiar Blue Card, along with the Hyper Wings card, sliding them both through her D-Arc with the tell-tale shout of Digi-Modify.

Much to the astonishment of both Merukimon and Keenan, this gesture resulted in Antylamon soon standing before them, sporting the same radiant wings as she had during his brief encounter with the rabbit in the human world.

"You said northern direction, right?" Antylamon asked to Merukimon, who was still shocked at what he had just witnessed; unlike all other instances of human-aided Digivolution, there was no DNA-Charge to be found. Just who were these two? Nodding back, he watched as the Deva-like rabbit lowered her hands to the humans, telling them to come along now.

Thomas, Marcus and Yoshi recalled their Digimon, and walked with Suzie onto the rabbit's hands, while Kristy performed a less than steady imitation of what Suzie had, and exclaimed the same word, while Gumdramon assumed the form of his Champion-level, the group setting off in the direction that Merukimon had indicated. Thomas was secretly glad to get some distance between them and him, in case of a surprise attack.

Merukimon watched them depart, not all that surprised to see Keenan and Peacockmon not being among them. "Me no want to train with hu-mons!" Keenan shouted angrily at him. After what they had done, they deserved no better than to be killed, like Frigimon had been.

"I never meant that you would have to, Keenan," Merukimon apologized to the boy. "You may pursue BanchoLeomon's training as you see fit. Whether with the Damons to back you up, or separately, is entirely your own decision."

Keenan hesitated to respond, knowing the awe-inspiring stories of Spiral Mountain; even with the Digimental of Miracles, Falcomon couldn't possibly hope to survive for very long.

But if Merukimon believed that he and Falcomon could do it, when countless other Digimon had failed and paid with their current lives for their failure, then he would let nothing stop him from succeeding.

* * *

**This story's really diverging wildly... **

**1) The bit about Merukimon having a complete set of Digimentals and Spirits is because, well, shouldn't _all_ Digital Worlds have a set? As for why the 02 gang didn't go looking for the Spirits, or why the Adventure kids didn't find them either... Because this bit of Headcanon comes with a lot of Fridge Logic.**


	10. Day 09: To Scale Spiral Mountain 01-06

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The Keeper of Worlds) **Well, which one else did you expect?**

**The Digimental of Miracles is the strongest one, save the Digimental of Fate, so it would make sense for Merukimon to entrust that one to Keenan and Falcomon.**

* * *

With nothing to do but think on their flight towards this BanchoLeomon, whoever he or she was, Thomas realized just how risible the situation had become.

Here they were, a small group of humans, in another dimension, flying across the sky in the hands of a giant mutant-rabbit, to find a total stranger, who apparently lived by the oceanside.

They were doing this, in order to locate a man who had disappeared into this dimension over a decade ago, without any clues as to whether this man was dead or alive.

Strangest of all to him, however, was the fact that he himself was the only one who thought it unwise to heed Merukimon's suggestion, when they knew too little about him to trust him so easily.

Privately, he was a bit worried, as while someone as undeniably powerful and experienced as Suzie and Lopmon would be of help, he couldn't help but wonder who was taking care of their world?

While Thomas was deep in thought, Marcus was getting antsy. They had been flying nonstop for what felt like twenty minutes, with no oceanside yet in sight. Though he wouldn't mind either if Antylamon would fly a bit faster; he could _literally _walk faster than this pace.

Yoshino couldn't help but wish that they'd walked, rather than fly with Antylamon. In case of an attack, they'll be sitting ducks up here. She knew that with Arresterdramon and Kristy circling above them, anything lower than a Mega-level would likely hesitate to do so, but given that none of those nine Armor Digimon looked to have fired those blasts that had destroyed their supplies, she deemed it best to be cautious.

Suddenly, Suzie spotted something a good distance ahead, a small cottage on an oceanside cliff, which she surmised to be where Merukimon had specified for them to go.

Atop the roof of his cottage, BanchoLeomon's meditations were interrupted abrubtly, by the soft sounds of footsteps on the bedrock below him. He smirked widely, knowing the situation, wondering how Merukimon had sent to his dojo for training this time around.

He didn't need open eyes or even to look in their direction to know that at least one of them was a human; he'd recognize the footsteps of a human anywhere. Opening his eyes, he saw a human that he recognized almost instinctively. At least, he thought that he did...

Marcus inspected the humanoid lion sitting on the roof. He had a muscular, heavy-set build, with short golden fur that accentuated his well-built physique, and unkempt white hair, falling back his back to his shoulders. Covering his abdomen was an large, pink X-shaped scar. He wore a large black leather jacket, as a makeshift cape, with a matching pair of pants.

"I know why you have come," BanchoLeomon gruffly spoke to the group. "If you seek the overwhelming strenous training of BanchoLeomon, you must first Digivolve your partners with your DNA-Charge."

"We don't care about your training!" Marcus hollered at him, instinctively clenching his fists. "We just want to hear if you know where my dad is!"

BanchoLeomon would've blinked, if the act didn't signify a lack of composure and dignity. So he hadn't known why they had sought him out, it hardly mattered. "Your dad?" He echoed dubiously.

"Yeah, Spencer Damon," Marcus clarified. This time, his words elicited a noticable reaction from BanchoLeomon as his expression turned nostalgic at the mere mention of the name.

The adventures he'd had with the man... Scaling Spiral Mountain, cementing their legend through-out the Digital World... Searching everywhere for the fabled King Drasil, or Yggdrasil, or ENIAC, as he was referred to in some parts of the Digital World, and aiding Digimon in need as they went...

"Alas, I can do nothing to do help you," BanchoLeomon spoke morosely, much to Kristy's dismay. Had they really come all this way, just to return home empty-handed? She didn't want to believe that, but she seemed to have no choice. "However, you may be able to help yourselves, and mayhap help this world as well..."

"What're you talking about?!" Thomas exclaimed, bewildered by his enigmatic words. BanchoLeomon glared down at him when he finished. If this Digimon thought himself intimidating with a simple glare, Thomas decided that he had a surprise for him.

"I know not of Spencer's whereabouts," BanchoLeomon told them. It wasn't a lie, technically. Likely, Spencer was still captive by King Drasil, in the server tree, but it was impossible to assert concretely that he was still there.

Thomas really wished that he would get to his point. He'd flat-out admitted that he didn't know either, so why was he still talking?

"However, a legend claims that those who ascend to the very peak of Spiral Mountain will have a wish granted by King Drasil," BanchoLeomon recounted to them. Kristy visibly perked up at his words. If that was true, then that meant- "You may be able, human and Digimon together, to tap into that venue, and locate Spencer Damon."

"Let's go then!" Marcus and Kristy enthusiastically hollered in unison. "We're here to bring dad home, and we aren't leaving without him!"

"Then, before I take you all to Spiral Mountain, you must first Digivolve your partners to their strongest levels," BanchoLeomon reiterated. The group looked up at him skeptically, wondering why that was relevant, but acceded to his command regardless, seeing no harm in doing so.

With a tri-colore blaze of DNA-Charges and a pair of exclamations of Digi-Modify, GeoGreymon, Gaogamon, Sunflowmon and Arresterdramon stood before him, backed by Cherubimon in all her effeminate glory.

Four students, BanchoLeomon noted. That Cherubimon would keep the other four from getting stronger if it was allowed along on their ascent, and in case of King Drasil not letting Spencer go, they would need the strength to fight, which they utterly lacked, from what he could see. "Then, let us make haste. The journey to Spiral Mountain begins now."

With that declaration, BanchoLeomon leapt off the roof, doing a flip in the air, landing on his feet. How his coat managed to not fall off during that display of acrobatics, Thomas, Yoshi, Kristy and Suzie had no idea.

"Come along now," BanchoLeomon glanced back at them, before continuing his stride away from them.

On their walk to Spiral Mountain, they passed by several Digimon, who looked at them curiously, due to both the oddity of seeing real-life humans in the Digital World other than Spencer Damon, and from knowing by the presence of BanchoLeomon that these humans and Digimon had apparently, _willingly_, signed up for the nightmarish experience that the lion-Digimon called training.

Just when Yoshi and Kristy were about to drop from exhaustion, they spotted a small cottage, that was in front of a huge jet-black mountain. Kristy really hoped that this was their destination; she couldn't bear to go any longer.

"How're you holding up, kid?" Gumdramon asked his partner, audibly concerned. Thomas looked upwards, trying to see how tall the mountain was, only to find that the peak, or an area close to it, was surrounded by clouds.

It was definitely a huge mountain, looking to be about twice as tall as the norse Jotunheimen, by his estimate. It shimmered like an obsidian diamond in the setting sun.

His curiousity was piqued by the fact that on a cliff a good distance was a cottage identical to the one at the foot of the mountain.

"That's... Really big," Yoshino chuckled nervously at the notion of climbing the whole thing. It looked like it could take weeks, and they only had a few hours left before they had to return to the human world. "Has anyone ever managed to climb the whole thing?"

"Climb?" BanchoLeomon quizzically asked. "The challenge lies not in climbing Spiral Mountain from the outside."

"Then, what're we supposed to do?" Marcus asked, puzzled. BanchoLeomon answered his inquiry by pointing a clawed finger to a wide opening in the mountain beside the cottage, that looked to be able to accomodate even GeoGreymon.

"You are to scale the hundred-fold floors of Spiral Mountain," BanchoLeomon told them sternly. "You are to brave the trials within. And you will emerge all the stronger for it, both you and your partners. You will emerge, unbreakable or broken."

Kristy cringed inwardly, doubting her own readiness for something like that. Yoshino sighed inwardly at how difficult things had become so quickly.

"In regards to your question, young lady, only twelve, out of thousands of Digimon, have succeeded in reaching the top. Spencer Damon, and myself, in the record of twenty-two hours, followed by ten others, who took over two weeks," BanchoLeomon spoke.

Thomas gasped at hearing him. Twenty-two hours? They had less than six hours in this world, before their time was up.

Regardless of whether the group had any apprehensions or misgivings, Marcus simply charged into the tunnel, while Agumon ran after his boss. Thomas grumbled in frustration. As always, Marcus was a reckless idiot. Didn't he realize that this could be a trap, by BanchoLeomon or even Merukimon?

Though, he supposed that given everything BanchoLeomon had said about the place, they might be better off, if it _was _a trap...

Yoshino shrugged her shoulders, figuring that if nothing else, Marcus would need some back-up, and that Spiral Mountain was their only option to find doctor Damon.

Entering the cavern after Marcus, Lalamon was mildly surprised at what exactly was inside. From BanchoLeomon's description, she had expected strenous conditions, with a wide assortment of Digimon to take down, before one could progress further.

However, nothing of the sort was present. It was a simple, straight-forward, surprisingly well-lit tunnel, that took a slightly-curving left turn from where they had entered. By Thomas' estimate, the circumference was about twenty meters from ceiling to floor, and between each of the walls.

Yoshino hadn't been inside a lot of mountains, but she still thought it odd for a sealed-off mountain to be so well-lit, given that there was no visible source of light. Still, she chalked it up to another of the Digital World's oddities, and it did come in handy, she supposed, chuckling that a bed-and-breakfast was probably too much to hope for.

Besides, they had other things to worry about, they knew, as a distance ahead, loud noises, and the voice of Marcus could be heard. Deciding it best to catch up with him, the others Digivolved their partners to Champion, and in Suzie's case Ultimate, in case of an attack on this floor.

To Kristy's relief, there were no Digimon to be found, even after they had completed what felt like a whole lap around the mountain. From where they had arrived, the only way forward was a sharp right turn that led further into the mountain, where they spotted Marcus and GeoGreymon fighting a large insect-like Digimon.

Thomas reached for the portable version of the DATS database, while Kristy's D-Arc manifested the hologram to provide the same information. Suzie and Lopmon, though, recognized the Digimon on sight; Kabuterimon, a Champion-level, and an easy-enough fight for GeoGreymon.

Sure enough, one final Mega Burst from the dinosaur ended the battle. While Kabuterimon's egg fell to the ground, the group re-joined Marcus and GeoGreymon on the second floor.

"Marcus, what were you thinking?" Thomas angrily demanded, as Agumon reverted to normal. Marcus sighed inwardly, though Thomas being his uptight self really shouldn't surprise him at this point. "We can't just rush in without a plan! What if there had been more than one Digimon, or even an Ultimate-level?!"

"In that case, we'll just take them down like we did this one," Marcus grinned, eliciting a frustrated groan from Thomas and Yoshino. Why did Marcus have to be so reckless? Didn't he realize that his sister was here too?

"He's right, Marcus," Suzie added, pausing to formulate a plan. After half a minute, she spoke again. "In case of another Digimon attacking us, me and Lopmon'll handle it, so you can move forward."

"But, Suzie, splitting up is what gets people killed in horror movies," Lalamon nervously pointed out, fidgeting. She didn't exactly want to run into the Demon Lords, or worse yet, Dagomon, the lord of the Dark Ocean, the Depraved Monk of the Deep.

"How do you even know what a horror movie is?" Gaomon questioned. The bud Digimon didn't seem the type for such interests, but then, looks could be deceiving, he knew all too well.

Deciding him right, Yoshi gave her partner a curious look. "I... Might have found a library in Shinjuku that didn't bar me from renting movies..." Lalamon shiftily admitted. Thomas stared skeptically at her, wondering what sort of librarian would allow Lalamon to rent anything.

"You found my library card?!" Yoshino incredulously asked, having thought it long since lost in her not exactly spotless apartment.

Lalamon shook her head, dismissing _that_ as a lost cause, beyond even the power of a Mega-level. Suzie and Lopmon could only agree with her assessment. "I borrowed Marcus'."

Agumon and surprisingly Gaomon as well failed to suppress a snicker at the statement, while Marcus gave her a displeased look. "We'll have this talk later. Right now, we've got ninety-eight floors to go."

Thomas supposed that there was no reason to continue the argument; if Marcus wanted to be a reckless idiot and get himself killed, so be it. They wandered a distance further, where the tunnel of the second floor diverged into two. A distance into both forks, a sharp turn upwards was visible.

Without hesitating to think about which path to take, Marcus took the left path, Agumon following behind him enthusiastically. To Thomas' bewilderment and slight discomfort, the next several floors of the mountain didn't pose much of a challenge either, with no Digimon present, worrying him slightly, as with no Digimon to fight, what exactly had BanchoLeomon meant by them have to brave the trials within?

* * *

**1) Yes, I decided to have Spiral Mountain in this story. Yes, I decided to give it an upgrade. But be honest, what sounds better as an exercise, a hundred mentally and physically taxing floors, or fighting a few wooden figures and screaming like a Super Saiyan...**

**2) Ah, Thomas... Still so young. You'll find out soon enough.**


	11. Day 10: To Scale Spiral Mountain 07-15

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The Keeper of Worlds)** As you wish.**

* * *

Right now, Thomas wished nothing more than to find an exit to this place. Kristy had fallen asleep, necessitating Yoshino to carry her, because as Suzie had pointed out, in case of an attack, they needed both Marcus and Arresterdramon to have their hands free.

Not helping in the slightest was that the cavern had suddenly become increasingly more complex to navigate through, with them having made several wrong turns already.

He assumed that they were heading the right way, however, as now, there was a new obstacle in their way. The walls in front of them narrowed inwardly, and there was no floor to walk on, making Yoshino wonder how they were supposed to get by.

Lalamon suggested that she could Digivolve and fly them over, but Gaomon discouraged the option, pointing out that traversing the mountain would require more than brute, and that they couldn't afford to rush in blindly.

Thomas instructed to send Marcus with Agumon in the Digivice over first, as they would be able to keep guard on that end. Lalamon nodded in agreement, and after Yoshi had Digivolved her, Sunflowmon carried the teen over to the other end, returning half a minute later.

Subsequently, Sunflowmon carried Yoshino, Kristy and Gumdramon over, wincing inwardly, as those three were heavy, and she wasn't used to carrying that sort of weight around. Regardless, she managed to carry those three over with no real hassle.

Bringing over Thomas, however, proved to reach the limits of her stamina. Of course, that hardly proved a problem for Suzie, who simply swiped a pair of cards, and was carried over by Turuiemon.

With the group gathered, they trudged onward though the rocky corridor, their path leading directly to the eight floor.

Gaomon quickly inspected their new surroundings. Unlike the prior floors, this floor seemed to be an arena, rather than a labyrinth, with the only other Digimon being a Greymon and a Garurumon. Strangely, scattered around the bedrock were a large assembly of Digi-Eggs.

Lopmon sighed inwardly, as even on this wide-open floor, there was still nowhere near enough space for her to assume her Cherubimon form. Now _there _was a rare sight, Garurumon noted. Humans? This far up Spiral Mountain? They would prove interesting to fight, he suspected.

Thomas and Kristy reached for their respective devices, identifying the two Digimon as the Champion-level Greymon and Garurumon. Agumon and Kristy stared confusedly at them, wondering how Greymon could be a Champion, when Agumon's Champion form was GeoGreymon.

"Right," Yoshino sighed in resignation. "We gotta fight you two to get any further, don't we?"

Greymon and Garurumon looked briefly at each-other, amused by her accepting it so readily. "You got it." Greymon responded, his voice a predominant growl.

"And there's no way that we can avoid this?" Lopmon quietly asked. Garurumon gave a mocking snort, wondering whether she was serious. He and Greymon had come to Spiral Mountain, in order to pursue strength, as these humans and Digimon had. And she wished to avoid combat? That Lopmon had the nerve? His blood boiled at the mere thought.

"None," Greymon affirmed. He wondered what that human was doing with that strange blue object, and got his answer soon enough, when the rabbit transformed into an Antylamon.

It could hardly be called a battle, Yoshino mused. A battle implied them having had a chance to fight back...

"Let's go," Suzie calmly spoke to the visibly disturbed group. Yoshino had known that Lopmon was a powerful Digimon, but to fight with such brutality... Marcus was more as to why she felt a need to show off, as they hadn't even needed Cherubimon for that little battle, if something so one-sided could be called such.

Undeterred, they continued their trek, managing to get past the ninth floor with no real difficulty, though it took an hour to do so. BanchoLeomon watched them with a deadpan expression when they arrived on the tenth floor, noting that about five hours to reach the tenth floor wasn't a record by any stretch, but it was a decent time.

Much to Gaomon's surprise, this floor held no obstacles to overcome nor any Digimon to fight, though he was relieved by that fact, as they had spent several hours trying to traverse the mountain already. Much as he wanted to rest, he knew that it wasn't an option. They might get attacked if they did.

"Well done, all of you," BanchoLeomon commended them. "Please stay at my cottage and get some rest for the remaining night."

Despite Thomas' apprehensions, they followed BanchoLeomon outside through a large opening in the mountain, to a large collection of apple trees and a wooden cottage that looked big enough to accomodate everyone, even Lopmon in her Ultimate form.

Until mid-noon the next day, the group relaxed from the arduous experiences within the mountain, feasting on as many of BanchoLeomon's apple pies as they could stomach, which for Agumon had meant to wait until everyone was full, and eat to his heart's content.

The eleventh floor had been simple enough to pass through, but the twelfth floor had been a different matter.

In a tunnel on the twelfth floor, GeoGreymon, Marcus, Gaogamon, Sunflowmon, Antylamon and Arresterdramon were busy fighting a swarm of twenty-thirty Stingmon.

"Just what does it take to get rid of these things?!" Marcus exclaimed in frustration, delivering a haymaker to one of the Stingmon. Antylamon and Gaogamon could only agree with him, as whenever they managed to put down one of them, it seemed that four or five would simply replace it.

A few meters away, Arresterdramon swung the sword that Kristy had given him into the side of one of the Stingmon, and cursed when it got stuck in its exo-skeleton.

"It's useless!" They heard one of the Stingmon hiss furiously at them. "The Stingmon brigade are the ones who will scale Spiral Mountain, not you!"

"Do be quiet," Antylamon retorted irritantly, swatting a few into them into the cavern wall, reverting them to eggs. As soon as she had, however, about ten more Stingmon flew towards them, seven passing by Antylamon, five passing by GeoGreymon and Arresterdramon, and two passing by Sunflowmon and Gaogamon, heading straight for Yoshi, Thomas, Kristy and Suzie.

Yoshino froze, trembling with panic as the Stingmon charged at them, its stinger arm extended and prepared to strike. Sunflowmon stared, horrified. Yoshi was in danger, she had to do something, she had to-

The plant Digimon couldn't finish the thought, her conscious mind drowned out by a sudden influx of power. Suddenly, a blazing golden light illuminated the tunnel, stopping every last one of the combatants in their tracks.

Before the light had even receded, Lalamon's consciousness returned to her. She knew exactly what had happened, and to commemorate it, only two words came to mind.

Everyone present suddenly heard a soft female voice announce, loudly and clearly, Marvel Shot, and next thing they knew, the tell-tale sounds of Digi-Eggs forming reverberated through-out the cavern.

Then, the light faded, and beside Yoshi floated a Digimon that seemed as much human as it did plant.

_"Lilamon," _Kristy and Suzie quickly read off their D-Arcs, with their partners looking over their shoulders, and Marcus looking at his sister's D-Arc, while Thomas announced the same information off the laptop. _"Level: Ultimate. Attribute: Data. Type: Fairy. Attacks include Marvel Shot, Lila Shower and Lila Dagger."_

"So now we've got two Ultimates," Thomas noted. This would decidedly come in handy, he knew. Now, they could actually afford to send someone to look, in case that the group were to get separated.

"Yeah," Marcus agreed. "But a better question is, why didn't Suzie just unleash Cherubimon?"

"Kinda not enough space," Lopmon answered sternly. Thomas admitted that the rabbit had a point; with the average cavern in this mountain only holding an area of about twenty meters, having the gargantuan Mega appear was impossible.

Marcus glared skeptically at the rabbit. Not enough space? Was _that _seriously her rationalization for not Digivolving in here? He begrudgingly supposed that it wasn't an entirely nonsensical one, but it still annoyed him with how... _Mundane_ it was.

The group continued steadily forward, occasionally taking down a Digimon along the way, eventually reaching the fifteenth floor, which consisted of a large hall where BanchoLeomon awaited them.

* * *

**1) Yes, the fact that Lalamon reached Ultimate in the caverns of Spiral Mountain rather than a snowy crevice should tip you off about how radically this story's diverging from Data Squad proper.**


	12. Day 10: To Scale Spiral Mountain 16-20

**Review Responses**

The Keeper of Worlds) **And next is... MachGaogamon?**

* * *

On the fifteenth floor of Spiral Mountain, at the middle of the dome-like cavern, BanchoLeomon stood, regarding the latest challengers of the mountain. Thomas and Gaomon were confused as to why he had shown up, as there was no exits to be found, like there had been on the tenth floor.

"Hey, BanchoLeomon," Marcus greeted the stoic lion briefly as he and Agumon walked by him. However, they were stopped by BanchoLeomon's extended arm.

"For this floor, I will personally test your strength," The lion sternly informed them. Thomas cringed inwardly, as Kristy's and Suzie's Digivices had verified him to be a Mega-level, and he knew that one Mega against two Ultimates and three Champions was a highly-one sided battle.

He just hoped that their strength in numbers was enough to match and overcome BanchoLeomon's unknown battle prowess. To Yoshino's surprise, he simply stood there and watched while everyone else Digivolved their partners, with Kristy giving Arresterdramon the Dramon Breaker. Did he somehow believe that they were _that _thoroughly outmatched?

BanchoLeomon roared gutturally as he charged at them, Antylamon catching both of his punches. In the corner of his left eye, he spotted the Lilamon preparing an attack, and used the rabbit's hand as leverage to perform a leap over her head, and delivered a swift kick to Antylamon's right side, knocking her over and putting down Gaogamon, reverting them both to Rookie.

The humans watched in astonishment at the ease with which BanchoLeomon had taken down Antylamon. Marcus knew that aside from himself, Lopmon was their heaviest hitter. This wasn't going well, Yoshino sighed.

Arresterdramon wordlessly swung the sword at the lion, hoping to at least divert his attention for a few seconds, while Lilamon and GeoGreymon prepared their attacks.

To his surprise, he swung at empty space, and faintly, he registered the sounds of a furred paw smashing into... He didn't have more than a second to ponder, before a sharp pain arrived in his midsection, and his body reverted to the smaller one of Gumdramon's.

"NOT YET!" Marcus hollered, manifesting his DNA-Charge, only much more intense, engulfing his entire body, and prepared to give BanchoLeomon a taste of his fists. However, as soon as it had appeared, the blaze faded. To everyone's shock, his Digivice had visibly cracked, seemingly overloaded by that abrubt burst of DNA.

"That's unfortunate," BanchoLeomon noted. Perhaps Spencer would've known how to repair a broken Digivice, but he didn't. Agumon hopefully asked Thomas whether it could be fixed, as he would just slow Boss and the others down without it.

Thomas shook his head. With the proper instruments, he could, but for now, Marcus and Agumon would have to sit it out. As both he and Yoshino had expected, he didn't take kindly to hearing that.

"You may proceed. Be aware that the Chessmon Empire resides on the seventeenth and eighteenth floors," BanchoLeomon informed them, watching the argument between the two humans with mild amusement.

Marcus and Kristy confusedly asked what a 'Chessmon Empire' was. Privately, Marcus felt like taking on an empire at the moment, though he knew that defeating an entire empire might be beyond him.

BanchoLeomon explained briefly that the Chessmon Empire was a gathering of PawnChessmon and KnightChessmon, led by a KingChessmon and a QueenChessmon.

Lalamon wasn't sure what to make of this Chessmon Empire, but figured that it wasn't really important; with Two Ultimates at present, they would likely face little adversity.

Over the next several hours, the group made their way through the sixteenth, seventeenth, eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth floors, taking down an abundance of PawnChessmon and KnightChessmon as they went.

Eventually, the utterly exhausted humans and Digimon finished another set of ten floors, where BanchoLeomon awaited them. At this point, everyone were too tired to argue with him leading them into his cottage.

* * *

**Geez, this chapter was really short... Oh well, the next one'll make up for it...**


	13. Day 12: To Scale Spiral Mountain 21-30

**Review Responses**

The Keeper of Worlds) **It'll get fixed shortly... Maybe.**

Guest)** Yes, Lopmon _has_ obtained her Mega-form, Cherubimon. In fact, every appearance in that form since early Part 1 has been the Virtue Mode.**

Magical Person) **They're m****ine as well, and thank you for the kind word.**

* * *

Within the chamber of the mountain that was the twenty-first floor, the five DATS members and their partners were gathered, facing BanchoLeomon. To Gaomon's mild surprise, instead of a tunnel leading upwards, behind the formidable lion were a long line of smaller chambers, that seemed to have no exits.

At long last, it was time to return to traversing the mountain and hopefully find dad, Marcus thought to himself, wondering where the road upstairs was. It couldn't be those rooms behind him, as they had nowhere to go.

BanchoLeomon studied them curiously, wondering whether they had the strength of heart to proceed further. Very few did, and those who did rarely managed to face the challenges of the mountain.

It was almost amusing, BanchoLeomon mused to himself. No single Digimon could ever manage to reach the peak; the wildly varying obstacles and trials rendered _that _impossible. Either that, or the vast number of other challengers discouraged them.

Yet, he was certain that these ten, human and Digimon, would manage this feat. They possessed the ability to move through the air, and the land. If they could cross the waters as well, little would stop them.

"You have done well, all of you," BanchoLeomon commended them. "However, the next ten floors are unlike the past twenty."

Yoshino sighed in relief, as she was sick and tired of fighting near-constantly. Thomas and Gaomon stared confusedly at him, wondering what he meant. That Spiral Mountain was a place to pursue strength, and maybe even have a wish granted, was well-established, they knew, so what would be different?

"These next ten floors will test your minds, not your strength," The lion continued. "Before you can continue, the bonds between you and your partners must be purified of any and all imperfections."

Lalamon stared dubiously at the lion. Admittedly, everything he had claimed about the mountain had been true so far; it had been excruciating ordeals, non-stop. However, she couldn't quite understand how exactly them being in those chambers would strengthen their connections to each-other.

BanchoLeomon continued to say that the experience might take mere minutes, or it might take up to an entire day, which didn't exactly encourage Thomas to go along with it.

Yoshi was more curious about what exactly the exercise entailed. Were they supposed to just pour their hearts out to each-other? Shrugging to the others that there was no harm in doing it, Marcus and Agumon walked over to one of the chambers, entering it.

As if on command, the entrance suddenly sealed up, before anyone could react, trapping the teen and the Digimon inside. Kristy, Gumdramon and Yoshino cried his name, alarmed, while Suzie pondered whether that had been what was supposed to happen.

So _that _was the concept behind this exercise, Thomas realized. Isolation, to give Marcus and Agumon all the time in the world to think, in absolute silence. No matter how much they were to struggle or resist it, eventually they would have to stop fighting.

Reluctantly deciding that the only way forward was to go into those chambers, Yoshino and Lalamon, Kristy and Gumdramon, and Suzie and Lopmon each entered three of the other chambers, which closed after them, imprisoning them, as Marcus and Agumon had been.

BanchoLeomon was left in the cavern, along with Thomas and Gaomon, both of whom were pondering their next move. The blond decided the probability of a trap being fairly good, as with Marcus' Digivice damaged irreparably, Agumon couldn't Digivolve, leaving them the most vulnerable of all.

However, regardless of how he approached the matter, he found no 'better' solution, relatively speaking, than to enter a chamber as the others had. Gaomon had a chance, no matter how slim, of taking down an Ultimate-level, whereas BanchoLeomon was far too powerful and well-trained for the boxer-Digimon to fight.

...

...

...

Within the chamber that Marcus and Agumon had entered, he watched his employee jab away at the reflective walls, in an attempt to make some indentations in it, and scale the walls that way.

About fifty-sixty meters above them was an opening in the walls, which they had assumed to be their target to reach, by whatever means they could.

Reluctantly, Agumon stopped his attacks to the wall, as all it resulted in was his claws getting hurt.

Loath as Marcus was to admit it, this wasn't something that he couldn't fight his way out of. In frustration, he punched the wall, managing to generate his DNA-Charge.

"Any ideas, boss?" Agumon softly asked, trying not to think of what would happen if they didn't get out. He'll never get to have Sarah's fried eggs again...

Marcus shook his head. "Sorry, Agumon, but I don't know how we're ever gonna get outta here."

Agumon responded with a disappointed sigh. He hadn't thought that his boss would ever give up so easily, but then, this wasn't an enemy to be fought either. "But, you're not giving up, right?"

"Of course not!" Marcus hollered indignantly at the notion. Giving up was for weak people, who lacked the guts to keep going. He wasn't one of those people; he and Agumon were the ultimate team! If they would give up, just from being thrown in a bottomless pit, what sad things would that make them?

With nothing else to talk about, silence descended in the chasm. Agumon wasn't even sure how long they just sat there in the cave, trying to think of a way to escape.

BanchoLeomon had said that they would have to strengthen their bond, but his connection with Boss was already unbreakable, so what more did it take? At least, Agumon liked to think so...

When he finished the line of thought, a terrible notion presented itself to him. Was the reason for their inability to escape because... Boss felt that he couldn't trust him, for some reason?

The reptile-Digimon didn't want to believe it, but it _did _make that _this_ was the problem preventing them from getting out.

"Agumon?" Marcus asked, sounding unlike himself. His tone was softer than Agumon was familiar, even comfortable, with, and lacked his usual confidence and bravado. Definitely cause for concern, Agumon decided, and gave him a worried look. "I've got a favor to ask. If something happens, and you'll have to leave me behind, and save Kristy, or dad, I want you to do that."

Agumon stared horrified at him. Him, for Kristy or Spencer? What was he thinking? What sort of awful trade was that?! Didn't Boss realize that he was just as important to Sarah as Kristy and Spencer were?!

"No way, Boss!" Agumon hollered at him. Marcus gave a momentary startled yelp. "I'll never do that! You're too important, to Sarah, to Kristy, to me! You're like a brother to me! Don't you realize that?!"

Marcus smiled back that he knew that well, giving the yellow dinosaur a brief hug.

Upstairs, BanchoLeomon, Yoshino and Lalamon witnessed an unusual sight, as two small orbs, one of orange-golden light and one of silvery-white light, flew out from the opening to two of the chasms, leaving shimmering trails of energy in their wakes, before flying into another of the passages.

Marcus and Agumon blinked when a pair of lights flew from above them, into his Digivice, seemingly repairing it, and redesigning it too. Their confusion only grew when the Digivice suddenly spoke, in a perfect imitation of commander Sampson, declaring what sounded like that 'Bio-Emerge' thing that Suzie had mentioned, along with 'Digivolution', for some reason.

Suddenly, Marcus felt... Something tug at him, pulling him towards Agumon, and suddenly, everything went dark. Startled by those lights, Yoshino and Lalamon ran into the cavern, followed by BanchoLeomon, where an unusual sight awaited them.

He noted a resemblance between the Digimon that was ten meters below them and the WarGreymon-species, but this one was considerably more... BanchoLeomon paused to consider his choice of words to describe the new Digimon, deeming 'sharply angular' a fitting description, in contrast with the more softly-curving design of the WarGreymon, and wielded a large sword, rather than the Dramon Destroyer claws.

Yoshino and Lalamon, however, were more concerned about Marcus, as he was nowhere to be found. Lalamon wondered briefly whether Agumon had eaten him, as he couldn't just disappear, before dismissing it, knowing that he wouldn't ever do that.

Yoshino blinked when the Digimon suddenly leapt up, performing a surprisingly-graceful landing in front of them. To their utter shock, the powerfully-built Digimon suddenly separated, into Marcus and Agumon.

"N-no way!" Yoshino stuttered in shock, while Lalamon and BanchoLeomon were speechless.

The lion-Digimon had heard of a Digivolution method called a Jogress, where two Digimon merged together to form a new and stronger one, but was such, a Jogress between a human and a Digimon, actually possible as well?!

"Guys?" Agumon suddenly spoke, sounding to be not quite in pain, but still distinctly unlike normal.

He didn't quite know how to explain it, but now that he had separated from Boss, he felt... Different, like there was something, some new energy, that pulsated underneath his skin, burning and clawing at him in an almost-pleasant manner, even as it yearned to be released.

"What is it, Agumon?" Marcus concernedly asked. To his and everyone's shock, Agumon seemed to getting bigger, as his body was bathed in a crimson-orange flame-like aura.

His abrubt growth-spurt stopped as soon as it had begun, leaving the Digimon standing at three meters in height, with a build as burly as that of BanchoLeomon, while everyone else were perplexed as to what had just happened.

He hadn't Digivolved, Lalamon knew, as he still looked largely the same, but he wasn't quite the same Digimon as before. BanchoLeomon recognized full well what had happened, supposing that it was logical for whatever merger the two had undergone to grant Agumon access to the Burst Mode.

After all, the Burst Mode was fueled by the DNA-Charge, human emotion, and with Agumon having found his way to the powersource, it would really make _less _sense if he didn't have access. The bancho believed so, at least.

"What's happened to you, Agumon?" Marcus confusedly asked, wondering how his partner had suddenly gotten so much bigger. Agumon responded that he didn't know either.

"You've done it, Marcus," BanchoLeomon commended him heartily. "You too, Agumon. Through your everlasting friendship, you've managed to ascend past the Rookie-level, into a level of power that exceeds even the Champion-level, while Agumon has yet to Digivolve. _This..._ Is the Burst Mode. "

At BanchoLeomon's words, Marcus, Yoshi and Lalamon eyed Agumon with awe. How strong had he become?

BanchoLeomon had said that Agumon now was stronger than a Champion-level, Lalamon knew, but exactly how powerful was he? As strong as an Armor-level, or even an Ultimate?

Agumon clenched his claws a few times, smirking widely. BanchoLeomon was definitely right, he decided. Not even in his GeoGreymon form had he wielded such power.

And if he still could Digivolve, he'll be invincible!

...

...

...

Meanwhile, in Thomas' and Gaomon's crevice, the exasperated pair sat on the bedrock, with their backs to each-other, trying and failing to come up with a solution to their predicament.

Whatever these walls were made of, it was a sufficiently durable substance to withstand anything that Gaomon or Gaogamon would attack them with, so there was no chance of escaping that way, Thomas decided.

Nor would he mind if BanchoLeomon had been less vague about what exactly they were supposed to do here. Certainly, he had been clear enough in his meaning, but opening his heart completely, even to Gaomon, didn't exactly come easy, he admitted to himself with slight embarrasment.

It wasn't that he didn't trust Gaomon, but he just... Actually, he didn't quite understand why he hesitated to trust Gaomon like that.

"Sir?" Gaomon interrupted his musings, his tone soft yet ultimately unreadable. He awaited his partner's approval, before proceeding. As he received a brief, curious 'yes?', he decided to ask his question. "Have you ever pondered the future?"

Thomas responded with a weary sigh. It wasn't that he objected to the question, but after all of Suzie's nonsense, he really wasn't interested in _any _sort of complex line of philosophic thought, at the moment.

Ashamed as he was to admit it, he honestly couldn't wrap his mind around what Suzie had told them. He wasn't sure what the appropriate reaction to being told that alternate universes, along with nearly every aspect of Digimon mythology, were real, but he supposed that despondency covered it well enough.

The more that Thomas thought about it, the more he felt like he had somehow entered a cosmic horror story.

Lopmon's Mega form was considerably more powerful than Gaogamon, GeoGreymon, Lilamon and Arresterdramon, and those cards that Suzie had... It made no sense for them to work, yet they just did, logic be damned.

What sort of world were they from? In hindsight, the answer was obvious, Thomas chided himself, shaking his head in mild amusement. That world that Suzie and Lopmon were from... It might as well be Yuggoth...

"Are you alright, sir?" Gaomon worriedly asked, maintaining his level tone. He knew that panicking rarely aided matters, so he tried to avoid it when he could.

"Yes, Gaomon, I'm fine," Thomas answered dismissively. Gaomon was unsure of whether to take Thomas on his word, nor did he feel it right to force the issue, so he kept quiet about his apprehensions.

After a few minutes of them sitting in mind-numbing silence, however, Gaomon could stay quiet no more. He abhorred the thought of coaxing Thomas into anything, yet he thought that it might be necessary in this situation. "Sir? _Is _something the matter?"

Thomas raised an eyebrow in fascination at Gaomon's suddenly-resolute tone, wondering whether the solitude and quietude were starting to affect him. "It's rather ironic, isn't it, Gaomon? This obstacle isn't one that can be out-thought or out-witted, yet judging from the conversations upstairs, Marcus and Agumon have already gotten out, and have obtained some new Digivolution for it..."

Gaomon didn't respond, understanding Thomas' point completely. Marcus and Agumon... They relied utterly on brute force, eschewing any sort of tactics or combat strategy. It was honestly a miracle that they hadn't been killed already.

Thomas didn't understand how they could possibly work like that; not planning in advance, or forming strategies to anticipate every outcome simply were abhorrent notions to him.

He briefly wondered whether he was even still useful in the field. Gaogamon was powerful, certainly, but everyone else had some way to move past the Champion-level, and his intellect might well do more good, doing a desk-job.

Perhaps, _that _was the best way for them to contribute, Thomas mused. Power-wise, the japanese field-team of Marcus, Agumon, Yoshi, Lalamon, Kristy, Gumdramon, Suzie and Lopmon wasn't exactly lacking.

Thomas chuckled softly, kicking himself for applying the perfect solution fallacy to the situation. Certainly, Marcus' and Agumon's brute force approach was a crude one, but it had one thing going for it; it was _working_.

Thomas sighed, musing that perhaps, he had been wrong about Marcus from the start. If Marcus _really _acted with no rational thought, he would have no self-preservation instincts, and should therefore be dead. From that, it followed logically that he _did _think about his actions, yet in a way completely unlike what he himself did.

Whereas he planned ahead, incorporating as many variables as possible, Marcus simply thought on his feet, adjusting to everything that happened _a__s _it was happening.

"I think I finally understand him," Thomas whispered to Gaomon, who responded softly. Evidently, the canine thought, they had been on the same track of thought, regarding Marcus and Agumon.

Upstairs, and in Kristy's chasm, the girls watched as another orb emerged from their D-Arcs. Kristy and Gumdramon watched the golden orb fly upwards and outwards, while Suzie and the others on the thirtieth floor watched the silvery orb fly down to where Thomas and Gaomon was.

The blond and the boxer blinked when a pair of lights descended rapidly towards them, entering the screen of his Digivice before they could react.

Whatever effect that had on the device, or was supposed to have, Thomas wasn't sure, but it did cause his Digivice to declare in a near-perfect rendition of commander Sampson's voice 'Bio-Merge Digivolution'.

Thomas barely had time to ponder the term, before his surroundings changed radically. Faster than his eyes could process, the crystalline walls were replaced by an endless expanse of darkness.

To his discomfort, not only was he naked and... Missing, but Gaomon was nowhere in sight, and lastly, he was no encased in a translucent orb that matched the color of Gaomon's fur.

Suddenly, he could feel his body once more, but what he felt definitely _wasn't _his body. Somehow, despite that he could see himself clearly within the darkness, his body felt as though he was on all four.

Yet, despite the unfamiliarity of the stance, it felt natural, reassuring to be like that. Indeed, the oddity of suddenly being quadrupedal paled greatly in comparison with the unbridled power that coursed through him.

"S-Sir?!" Gaomon stammered in incredulity, unsure of how to describe what he was sensing. Somehow, he just knew in his heart that Thomas was within him, though he was still unsure of what exactly had happened.

A Jogress was two Digimon merging together, but a human and a Digimon? It was unheard of!

Thomas wasn't sure of how, but somehow, he could hear Gaomon's thoughts. What exactly had this 'Bio-Merge' done to them? The fused pair were abrubtly interrupted in their musings, when they heard BanchoLeomon barking at them to come out.

Turning around, they saw that the entrance had somehow descended to the floor, and that BanchoLeomon and everyone else were waiting for them. Shakily lifting his right paw, Thomas and Gaomon took a step forward. Slowly, they walked out to th e other nine on the thirtieth floor.

Like the Digimon that Marcus and Agumon had become, this one was one that BanchoLeomon recognized, yet he did not. It was reminiscent of a MetalGarurumon, yet there were differences as well. This was the strangest day of this month, the lion grumbled in mixed exasperation and amusement.

With an increasingly-familiar movement, Kristy reached for her D-Arc, while Suzie did the same, both devices generating the same screen, listing differing information.

_"Agumon Burst Mode. Level: Rookie. Attribute: Vaccine. Type: Dinosaur. An Agumon that has temporarily reached the limits of its abilities through the Burst Mode, it now contains as much power as it's body can contain, and no Champion-level can hope to match this creature in battle," _Kristy read off the display.

"ZeedGarurumon. Level: Super Ultimate. Attribute: Data. Type: Cyborg," Suzie announced to the Group. Thomas felt Gaomon cringe at this, as the canine bitterly wondered whether he had truly become _this..._ A monster like _them... _

Kristy stared quizzically at her, at the mention of 'Super Ultimate' as a level. Wasn't there only supposed to be six? Fresh, In-Training, Rookie, Champion, Ultimate and Mega? Since when was there a Super Ultimate-level?

"Great job," The girl complimented. "Most Bio-Merges result in Mega-levels, but you've managed a Super Ultimate."

"Thanks," The merged Digimon answered with a faint growl, before noticing something else. "What's happened to Agumon?"

"The same thing that happened to you guys," Yoshi answered, receiving a confused from the two. Marcus and Agumon had combined into one Digimon too? "After they fused together and separated, Agumon could somehow manage something that BanchoLeomon calledd the Burst Mode, making him a lot stronger."

Thomas didn't respond to her, asking Suzie instead how they would separate from this form, while Kristy sheepishly asked what a Bio-Merge even was. Before the girl could answer either question, the process reverted on its own.

Thomas noted that this took care of that, while Suzie explained the Bio-Merging method to the others. "Something like _that _is possible?!" Lalamon exclaimed while BanchoLeomon decided it less than impossible.

After all, a Jogress was a similar thing, and he knew that the humans were likely to surprise and astound, in good ways as well as bad...

"Your world is a very strange place, Suzie," Yoshino muttered wearily. Suzie grinned, taking that as a compliment. Suddenly, Gaomon began to expand as Agumon had, with a soft-green aura flaring up around him.

His boxing gloves were ripped into shreds as the canine grew, while his fur visibly grew wildly unkempt, giving him the appearance of a feral wolf rather than a tamed dog.

"Him as well..." BanchoLeomon murmured in what appeared to be awe. "Thomas, Gaomon, through Bio-Merging together, your partner now has a direct link to your DNA-Charge, granting him power beyond that of a Champion-level."

"But, how do we revert back?" Gaomon questioned. Certainly, he was more powerful now, but he had rather grown attached to his Rookie form.

"_That _should be as easy as reverting to a lower Digivolution-level," BanchoLeomon answered dismissively, if his own assumptions of the Burst Mode were any indication.

Neither Agumon or Gaomon were certain whether BanchoLeomon's word could be trusted so easily, but with nothing else to go on in the matter, they did as he instructed.

Sure enough, their bodies released the familiar light, and reverted to their more familiar forms, Gaomon's fur returned to its normal length and his boxing gloves completely intact.

"Suzie, how do you activate the Bio-Merge?" Thomas curiously asked. Suzie told him and Marcus the same thing that she'd told Cody and Armadillomon two years prior.

To her and everyone's shock, Thomas continued to say that they wouldn't be using the Bio-Merge more than necessary, while Gaomon seconded the notion.

Even if they weren't connected by the Bio-Merge anymore, he still knew Thomas well enough to follow his thought-process. "I have no interest in utilizing a Digivolution method that I don't understand fully."

"Me and Agumon aren't gonna use it either," Marcus added. "Yeah, it's a powerful form, but me and Agumon... We're the ultimate _team, _not the ultimate Digimon. I'm not going to rely on just Agumon's power to fight, unless we have to."

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**And that's another chapter over.**


	14. Day 14: To Scale Spiral Mountain 31-100

**Review Responses**

The Keeper of Worlds) **And more, ye shan't receive.**

Gogglegirl) **Thaaank you.**

**...**

**Okay, this is dragging on longer than expected and there's three stories to finish, so to expedite matters, I'll have to do it all in one chapter.**

* * *

The next morning, after a long night of sleep in BanchoLeomon's third cottage, the group was prepared to continue their journey through Spiral Mountain.

Within the cave, the group were assembled, eyeing the tunnel that led further upwards with wariness, uncertain of what perils awaited them on their ascent.

Kristy chided herself; Marcus, Thomas and Suzie weren't frightened by something like this, so she couldn't afford to be either. Too much was at stake for that. They _needed _the wish from that King Drasil, or whatever, to get dad back.

Privately, Lalamon wasn't entirely comfortable with Thomas' suggested plan that they split up. She understood his rationale full well, that they'll be able to move much faster separately, but conversely, they would likely fare better if they stayed together.

"One last thing," Yoshino spoke suddenly, earning everyone's attention. To their astonishment, she and Lalamon suddenly Bio-Merged together, into a statusque buxom woman clad in a red and jet-black figure-hugging suit.

"All set," The Bio-Merge Mega chuckled in an amused tone to the amazed group, and the two separated again, Lalamon exclaiming happily that it worked. Suzie stared with wide eyes, in bewilderment and exasperation at the two. Bio-Merging was supposed to be an extra-ordinary achievement, performed only when the human and Digimon were in near-perfect emotional harmony, or had some common goal, and they just did it on a whim?!

It was mind-boggling and infuriating to the girl.

"Well, _that _was certainly anti-climactic," Gumdramon joked, wondering why they seemingly felt a need to show off.

...

...

...

Thomas soon lost count of how long they had been scaling the mountain. Some floors, he and Gaomon ran into Marcus and Agumon, or Rosemon, or Kristy, Suzie, Arresterdramon and Antylamon, accompanying them until the tunnel either split or a Digimon to be fought showed itself.

Some floors, he ran into them again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and_ again, _before they invariably split up, and banded together.

More than anything, Thomas wanted to reach the top, and get that wish granted, as each of the floors had required several wrong turns before locating a path that led upwards.

...

...

...

Outside, at the peak, BanchoLeomon sat on a rock near the exit, awaiting the emergence of any of the humans, as he had for an entire day already.

Shortly after, Marcus and Agumon came into his sight within the cavern, seemingly no worse for wear despite the strenous journey. BanchoLeomon smirked at this, knowing that the training had paid off.

Once the two had emerged from the cave, he looked around, trying to spot King Drasil, deciding that anything unusual would likely be him.

"HEY, DRASIL!" Marcus hollered around. Suddenly, the ground trembled. BanchoLeomon knew what was about to happen.

When he and Spencer had traveled the Digital World all those years ago, they had done so under the assumption that King Drasil was any one being, or any one object. In reality, Drasil was nothing of the sort. He was a universal-spirit; he existed anywhere in the Digital World that he cared to, in a vessel animated by consciousness, wielding absolute power over the Digital World and its inhabitants.

Certainly, a being like that might be called God, but BanchoLeomon doubted_ that_ to be the case. After all, given that King Drasil's power surpassed that of a Digimon, it followed logically, at least to him, that there existed a being above King Drasil, and consequently, a being above even _that._

"**I am here,"** A gruff, almost robotic voice declared, echoing through the minds of everyone present, while the trembling slowed, and ceased entirely. **"Speak freely and of your own will."**

Marcus and Agumon confusedly looked around, trying to find the source of that voice. **"If it be a body you seek..."** Drasil spoke, deciding to fashion a simple vessel for the duration. Suddenly, a small marble-sized emerald orb formed, shimmering with the light that it reflected. **"Consider it done."**

"I wish to have my dad back!" Marcus told the orb.

**"And I wish for you to leave my world, human,"** Drasil drawled, wondering why a human was coming to him with its troubles. **"Why have you sought me out?"**

Marcus and Agumon blinked, wondering why Drasil seemed reluctant to grant their wishes, even after they had reached the peak of Spiral Mountain. Inwardly, BanchoLeomon panicked, deciding that it was once again time to wing it.

"The legend, King Drasil. Anyone who reaches the peak of Spiral Mountain is supposed to have a wish granted by you," Marcus reminded the floating orb. In response, the sheen covering it shifted slightly, which Agumon decided to amount to a look of disbelief.

**"I know not this legend that you speak of," **Drasil responded annoyedly, wondering why BanchoLeomon saw fit to make fools of gullible humans. He had no objections to it, but such puerile pastimes merely seemed undignified for a Digimon with his power and experience. **"However, to honor the power and companionship that you and Agumon have displayed, I will deign to grant your wishes regardless."**

BanchoLeomon breathed an inward sigh of relief, as the situation had really started to look bad. Marcus wondered why BanchoLeomon had lied about the wish-thing, just to get them up here, but decided it not to be important at the moment, as he likely had his reasons.

"First, we have some friends downstairs, humans with Digimon partners, and we'll like them to get up here," Marcus told Drasil. Once again, the orb's sheen shifted, as it crackled with golden electricity.

A distance, a few Digital Gates opened in the air, dropping everyone to the ground, where sore landings awaited them. Thomas blinked at the sight of the miniscule emerald orb, surmising that it was King Drasil.

"Next, we'll like to find my dad, Spencer Damon," Marcus continued. So _that_ was why they had come to the Digital World, Drasil mused. To find and retrieve that man.

How noble, he thought briefly, of those Digimon to go through all this, simply to bring a stranger home. The orb froze suddenly in the air, ceasing all movement.

A distance away, another Digital Gate opened, and a man that resembled Spencer Damon fell through, giving a brief ow as he landed on the solid ground.

"Hey guys," Spencer greeted his kids and partner. "Didn't expect to run into you here. Would you mind filling me in?"

**"The current situation, Spencer Damon, is that your children and his allies have braved this mountain to free you. I have granted this request, but know that any of you who enter this world will die for their transgression. NOW LEAVE MY WORLD!" **King Drasil hollered in frustration, opening up Digital Gates leading straight to the human world beneath Marcus, Agumon, Thomas, Gaomon, Rosemon, Suzie, Lopmon, Spencer and BanchoLeomon before they had time to process his declaration, the portals sealing once their intended recipients had fallen through.

Kristy blinked quizzically, wondering why everyone else had been sent back, when they stayed here.

**"As for you, Arresterdramon, though you are not a Virus-Digimon, the devastation you might someday bring about is too great to allow your continued existence," **King Drasil told the dragon with a regretful tone, dismaying at having to slay someone so young, so innocent, yet knowing it to be for the good of all Digimon.

Kristy stared at horror at him. Was he really going to kill Gumdramon? But, Gumdramon was her friend, he couldn't do that!

"It's time to say goodbye, kid," Arresterdramon looked down at her, as she blinked at him, wondering what he was talking about. "There's no point in King Drasil killing both of us, so get outta here while I cover for ya."

Kristy gasped when he finished his sentence, while King Drasil's attitude to his boasting could best be described as amused. A mere Champion-level, stall him? For the sake of a human? It was absurd. "B-but!" She stammered in shock, unable to form a coherent response, tears starting to form in her eyes.

"Alright, new plan," Arresterdramon smirked at her, knowing that she wasn't about to leave. "Time to hand King Drasil his royal ass, Kristy. Sound like fun?"

"Yeah," She excitedly nodded back, and the sword-wielding dragon charged at him, while the god-king prepared his signature crystalline barrages.

In the distance, the Digimon of that world, had they been looking, could see golden spirals of energy shoot off the peak of Spiral Mountains, along with a blinding explosion, causing the mountain to crumble to dust.

They, as well as everyone in every dimension of creation, could at that very moment feel it in their hearts, and souls.

The birth of a new god, and the start of a new legend cut short.

* * *

**Well, that takes care of that. And if you're wondering whether I just killed off a twelve-year old girl...**

**Yes.**

**Maybe. **

**We'll see.**

**Latest notes**

**1) What? Did you really think that Yggdrasil was actually going to grant a wish? If that was true, what sort of draconian place would this Digital World be if any random Digimon could get any wish granted?**


	15. Day 14: The Check-In Station

**Review Responses**

The Keeper of Worlds) **No promises.**

Something Dictionary Related) **Yeah, well, the story needed to move forward.**

* * *

Kristy yelped when King Drasil unleashed his blasts, and in a fraction of a second, the pair felt sensations that neither Kristy nor Arresterdramon could not describe or explain.

Her skin seemed to felt tingly, yet it felt different somehow, as she felt both her and Arresterdramon fall through what felt like a soft ocean and a sturdy brick-wall, being guided gently through and shoved head-first.

The alien sensations ceased as abruptly as they had begun, and suddenly, Kristy registered... Nothing.

No sounds of any sort were present in her surroundings, no matter how minute, nor any smells, nor anything touching her skin.

Wherever she had ended up after King Drasil... She paused, realizing what had likely happened, between then and now.

She and Gumdramon had died, and this was, was... Where people who died ended up, she glumly noted.

Apprehensively, she opened her emerald-green eyes, and saw a large mist-covered ocean to her surprise, as what little she remembered from that mythology assignment last year described nothing of the sort.

Briefly, it reminded her of a sort-of... _upside-down _swimming pool, in that the white platform was surrounded by water, as opposed to the other way around.

It's oily waters were deadly calm, yet seemed to contain untold horrors within its depths; the mere sight unsettled Kristy slightly for reasons she didn't understand.

However, that mild oddity was completely forgotten, when she noticed out of the corner of her eye her arms.

Instead of her DATS uniform, she was now wearing a jet-black material on her arms, which she realized suddenly was her skin. Her arms had now become much more lanky with a spike protruding from her elbows.

To her astonishment, she now had four arms, matching each-other in every detail. Looking down at her new body, she saw thick dark-blue fur covering her waist and legs, leaving only the three deep-red claws of her feet exposed, with an immaculate white floor, looking as pristine as some kind of void.

Her hands were covered in some kind of armor-plating. She blinked in horror and astonishment when she looked up, and saw a really freaking big pair of mounted laser-cannons seemingly growing out of her back.

Within the monstrous Digimon, the girl floated in a dark void, encased in a translucent crystal, greenish-white bands of DigiCode letters circling her.

"Wh-what is this?!" The girl stammered in shock, wondering what sort of monster she had become, her voice deep and hoarse.

"It is the Digimon known as Millenniumon," A soft, calm voice informed her, regarding the new arrival with faint amusement at their strong resemblance to his foe of old.

Certainly, there were differences as well, he noted, though they amounted to nothing more than this Millenniumon having Kristy Damon's soft-emerald orbs rather than the other's blood-colored eyes, and lacking the ethereal yellow-blue ghost that infused his body.

He mused that despite the different circumstances, Kristy and Gumdramon in their Bio-Merged form might someday make a decent candidate. At the moment, however, they were still too young, immature and inexperienced to be considered.

Startled, Kristy looked around, seeing to her left a floating orb like King Drasil's, only bigger, the size of a bowling bowl, and light-blue, with the same sleek color, and lights flickering within it.

Beside it floated a white rounded dish of some kind, separated in six sections, with a few hundred jet-black marbles inserted in it, arcs of golden electricity flying from one marble to another, both close and distant ones.

To Kristy's confusion, some of the spots on the dish had empty spaces, including a larger spot at the center. "C-could you tell me where I am?" Kristy nervously inquired, deciding to be cautious with beings like King Drasil.

"This is my world, Kristy Damon, and Gumdramon," The soft-azure orb responded. Kristy's physical form's face visibly perked up at hearing Gumdramon's name, happy to hear that he was... If not alive, then present, at least.

It was then that Kristy realized what had happened. She and Gumdramon had Bio-Merged, like everyone else, and this 'Millenniumon' thingie was what they became from it, only to die as one Digimon.

"Who're you?" She confusedly asked.

"_Right here, kid," _She briefly heard Gumdramon's familiar voice tell her within her mind, and from beyond it as well.

"Humans have termed me ENIAC," The orb responded, soft white lights flaring and fading within it.

"Eniac?" Kristy chuckled. "That's a funny name."

The orb suddenly lost its radiance, its color shifting to a dark azure. Kristy cringed inwardly, as she hadn't meant to annoy him or her. She decided that a change of subject was in order. "So, um, what is this place?"

ENIAC hesitated to respond, mainly due to the fact that there was something quite memorable, even amusing, about Millenniumon sporting an expression of almost child-like confusion and curiosity. "This world exists as an intermediate between your universe and its Digital World, and the remaining multiverse."

Millenniumon's face stared perplexed at him, wondering what he meant by this world being an 'intermediate', as Suzie had never mentioned this place, even with all the complicated nonsense she occasionally spouted.

She understood what the multiverse was, though; Suzie had explained it a few times to make sure that the younger girl understood what she was getting into.

"Could you explain it a bit simpler?" Kristy tentatively asked.

"Of course," ENIAC responded. "This world exists outside normal space and time; years, even decades could pass in this world, while a single minute would pass in your universe. Do you understand this much?"

Millenniumon nodded in comfirmation, though she didn't quite understand what the point of time moving faster here was.

Suddenly, she realized the full extent of what that implied; she could be stuck for years, and no-one would even notice that she was missing.

More importantly, how long had he already been here?

ENIAC ignored the worried look that the Bio-Merge Mega gave him, surmising that he knew the conclusion she had arrived at. "This relative flow of time allows for Digimon and humans to arrive here, and reach the dimension they seek almost instantly, from the viewpoint of the inhabitants of the dimensions."

Millenniumon nodded, understanding it much better now. However, something still bothered Kristy.

ENIAC had said 'relative', not 'faster'. Was he implying that time somehow moved at different speeds at different, well, times?

And if it did, how long had they truly been here?

"I've got a different question," Gumdramon suddenly spoke up from within, sounding wary. "How come you look like King Drasil?"

Kristy hadn't thought much of the resemblance, as ENIAC was likely just a different member of whatever species of Digimon King Drasil belonged to.

ENIAC paused, the soft light pulsating within him slowing visibly, as he pondered the phrasing of his answer. "The entity that you call 'King Drasil' and myself are aspects of the same being."

Both halves of Millenniumon responded with a shared blank look. Gumdramon knew that it wasn't impossible that they were the same, but if so, why had he introduced himself with a different name, and not continue his assault on them?

ENIAC decided to simplify it for them. "Visualize the concept as a simple triangle. In keeping with this, I would be one of those corners, King Drasil would be another, and the third aspect, Norn, would be the final corner. Does that clarify it for you?"

Millenniumon nodded at ENIAC, though Kristy still wasn't sure of why such an arrangement was necessary, and who this 'Norn' was. "But if you're King Drasil, or a part of him, why did you, or he attack me and Arresterdramon?"

"He did so with the intent of preventing you from reaching this form," ENIAC revealed.

"Great job," Gumdramon drawled, while Kristy blinked, wondering what was wrong with this form.

"Why would he do that?" Millenniumon asked, confusedly. "Yeah, this body looks pretty weird, but that's no reason to kill us!"

"Indeed not, nor has he," ENIAC responded. Millenniumon's eyes widened in shock. They _weren't _dead!? But then, how had they ended up here? Wasn't this place where dead humans and Digimon came, to go into those mists?

Gumdramon grumbled in exasperation, as this was getting really confusing. "Okay, one more time, ENIAC. This place is just... A multiversal check-in station, right?"

Once again, the colors of his orb shifted. Kristy took it as the closest that ENIAC could get to an amused smile. "The assessment is not entirely inaccurate."

"And, what're all those small black things on the platform?" Gumdramon continued, painting a clawed finger of their second left hand to the platform beside ENIAC.

"They would be what you humans and Digimon call the multiverse," ENIAC responded, without a trace of irony or sarcasm. Both Kristy and Gumdramon stared disbelievingly at him, more than mildly skeptical that those small things were universes; they looked like that they could all fit within one of their hands, Kristy noted, so how could they possibly be universes?

Even if just once, she really wished that anything about this Digimon business would make sense...

"They look so small..." Kristy murmured in amazement, studying the miniature multiverse and the crackling energies it emitted with visible fascination.

"Everything does, when viewed from a sufficient distance," ENIAC answered plainly.

Once again, Millenniumon stared confusedly. What did ENIAC mean by them being far away, when she and Gumdramon could literally reach out and touch them? It made no sense to her, but very little of the situation did.

"Next, what's that ocean?" Gumdramon casually pointed a clawed finger of their right hand to the mist-covered ocean.

"It is a dimension referred to as the Dark Ocean," ENIAC told them with faint apprehension and hesitation. "It's said to contain unfathomable things within its infinite depths, strange creatures that are neither human or Digimon."

"W-what're you talking about!?" Kristy exclaimed, alarmed, before remembering that Suzie had actually mentioned those things, the Zero ARMS and other Digital life-forms.

She decided that ENIAC likely meant this, and looked away from the Dark Ocean, back to ENIAC, more than happy to do so. "Do you know a way to our universe?"

Abrubtly, ENIAC's orb began to pulsate with soft-white light while he emitted a whirring noise. "_That_ is my purpose, Kristy Damon and Gumdramon. To aid those who travel the path of worlds."

Suddenly, a Digital Gate materialized in the floor of the large platform, beneath their feet and they fell in.

Once they had, however, she immediately wished they hadn't, as the way home looked nothing like the way they had arrived in the Digital World about a week ago.

For a splitsecond, Kristy registered nauseatingly bright colors surrounding them, as they fall directly down a reddish-purple tunnel, with smaller tunnels next to them, one bright turquoise and one deep-blue, with DATS HQ awaiting at the far end.

As they fell, the reddish-purple gave way to a bright greenish-blue blaze that almost blinded her, as she collided with something very hard, and felt vomit rise from her stomach.

...

...

...

_DATS HQ_

Sampson, Miki and Megumi blinked in shock, as not one but two Digital Gates opened up on both side of the Digital Dive equipment, one casting out Thomas, Agumon, Spencer Damon, Marcus, Lopmon, a bipedal shirtless jacketed lion-Digimon, Yoshi, Gaomon, Lalamon and Suzie, and the other casting out Kristy and Gumdramon.

To his distinct distaste, Kristy promptly vomited upon her return, whimpering that she never wanted to go back through there, which he understood. The Digital World was no place for a child.

Acting quickly, he requested over the intercom that a group of doctors attended to their patients in the command room. Even three days overdue, he was simply relieved that his team had returned, alive, unharmed and even successful.

* * *

**And another chapter down.**

**1) Yeah, since there's so many beings in the Digimon franchise who calls themselves God (Yggdrasil/Norn/God/Homeostasis), I decided to basically mix them together...**

**2) I don't have anything against Kristy, but 'disagreeable sights' can cause vomiting, and nothing fits that bill better than that trippy transition.**


	16. Day 14: Battle Scars

**Review Responses**

The Keeper of Worlds) **Possibly...**

* * *

About twenty minutes later, the group had received their medical examinations, courtesy of the DATS personnel.

Now, they had been gathered in the command center by Sampson, the members of DATS, Spencer and BanchoLeomon, to hand over a detailed report of their foray to the Digital World, and what had kept them several days longer than planned.

Sampson hadn't permitted them to go home before handing in a report, much to Yoshi's chagrin, as after all those grueling experiences on Spiral Mountain, she wanted nothing more than to go back to her apartment, and get some rest.

Sampson watched his team with faint-yet-discernable surprise, as while the mission had been an utter success as far as returning unscathed and locating Spencer was concerned, he didn't quite understand why they had returned with a Digimon that wasn't on the record, nor how they had returned through two separate Digital Gates.

He knew _that_ to be impossible; if two or more Digital Gates were opened, they would both connect to the same transit-space in-between the dimensions, Sampson knew that much.

Logic dictated that she had somehow arrived back from somewhere else, but that possibility seemed highly unlikely, as other than Suzie's universe, their world and the Digital World were the only dimensions in existence, as far as he knew.

"Thomas, Yoshi, Marcus, Kristy, Suzie," Sampson addressed them sternly. "Would you care to account for your prolonged absence?"

Yoshi and Lalamon shared wary looks, unsure of whether to tell him that they had spent the additional time doing an elaborate training exercise by BanchoLeomon.

"We were held up, sir," Suzie coolly answered, her tone making it clear that she had no interest in discussing it further.

However, Sampson decided that not handing in the report was not acceptable, when it would be _this _overdue. "By what, exactly?"

"In order to locate Spencer Damon, we had to spend several days climbing Spiral Mountain," Thomas answered, when Suzie hesitated to. Sampson quirked an eyebrow, while Kudamon's eyes widened, the ferret visibly astonished by them seemingly having reached the peak of Spiral Mountain, an distinction that not all thirteen of the Royal Knights could claim.

Once again, Kudamon mused, the persistence of humans and the power of Digimon together managed something that should, by all rights, be beyond the capabilities of either.

In countless worlds, humans and Digimon had already overcome truly insurmountable odds, but was it really possible that these five, Thomas, Yoshino, Suzie, Marcus, Kristy and their partners had pulled off a feat like _that?!_

It seemed impossible, but then, humans rarely followed the laws of logic...

"And, you found Spencer on this 'Spiral Mountain'?" Sampson inquired.

"No, commander," Marcus interjected. "BanchoLeomon told us about this legend, that anyone who reached the top of Spiral Mountain would get a wish granted by King Drasil, but as it turns out, BanchoLeomon was lying to us the whole time."

Spencer blinked, wondering why his furry friend had done so. BanchoLeomon responded cryptically that he had his reasons for it, and would explain them once 'all of this' was over, confusing everyone.

"But then, how exactly did you manage to retrieve Spencer?" Sampson confusedly asked. Thomas told Marcus that he would like to know that as well.

"He was nice enough to let doctor Damon go, and send everyone except for Kristy and Gumdramon back to DATS, but he also barred us from ever entering the Digital World again," Yoshino answered, figuring that it wasn't a big loss.

Sampson cursed inwardly, as that dimensional 'restraining order' might come to complicate their tasks. "But if Kristy and Gumdramon weren't sent back with you, how did she arrive?"

The twelve returnees answered that they were as clueless about that enigma as Sampson.

"Me and Kristy Bio-Merged together before King Drasil sent both of us to kingdom come," Gumdramon explained, smirking at the varyingly surprised and confused reactions of the others. Suzie wondered aloud when exactly Bio-Merging had ceased to be unique, while Sampson, Spencer, Miki and Megumi were more curious about what 'Bio-Merging' was.

Lopmon answered her partner that it had happened when Kazu and Kenta managed on a visit to the Digital World two years ago, while Yoshino explained what had occurred on their trip to retrieve doctor Damon.

Miki and Megumi gasped in amazement at her claim, while Sampson gaped in disbelief. Spencer, however, smiled softly, happy to hear that the experiment that he and Merukimon had collaborated upon was a success, even if it wasn't exactly how he'd planned it all those years ago, as he'd planned for himself to Bio-Merge with Gumdramon, but meeting BanchoLeomon had changed that, and in some ways, for the better.

Sampson was quite honestly skeptical of them having merged with their partners, but he supposed that the outlandish claim wasn't impossible.

"After that, we went to this really weird place, and met this really nice Digital person called Eniac," Kristy continued. Suzie's eyes widened in disbelief, since she hadn't been aware that ENIAC even still existed, while Marcus blinked, unsure of what exactly this 'Eniac' was, and what Kristy meant by 'Digital person', when there was no such thing.

In hindsight, he decided that skepticism had no place within DATS. "You've really met ENIAC?" Suzie questioned, suspecting to know which Digimon they had Bio-Merged into.

After all, there were only so many options for the Mega-level of a mini-dragon Digimon.

"Uh-huh," Kristy nodded.

"You've met the creator of the Digital Worlds?" Suzie asked, eliciting shocked reactions from everyone present.

"Did Eniac create the Digital Worlds?" Kristy incredulously asked. BanchoLeomon mused aloud that there indeed was a entity above King Drasil. "Actually, Eniac said that he was King Drasil."

Yoshino knew that she ought to take revelations like this more seriously, but when she heard such mind-boggling stories on a regular basis, they slowly began to lose impact.

Thomas sighed, starting to look forward to the day when Suzie left, and things would return to a semblance of normality. He cupped his face in his left hand, feeling the onset of a headache.

"ENIAC," Suzie corrected. "All capital letters. And yes, as far as I know."

Kristy gave a brief whisper, in awe of the being she'd encountered in that strange world. Yet, something about this just confused Marcus. She'd arrived back at the same time as them, so where had she found the time to talk to this 'ENIAC' guy?

Sampson decided it prudent to obtain information. "Kristy, could you describe this world that you and Gumdramon went to?"

"It was really big, and white," Kristy answered, pausing to decide how best to describe that place, the multiversal check-in station, as Gumdramon had called it.

Sampson listened to her description with an immobile expression, nodding to signal his attention.

"And there was this big ocean next to ENIAC and us, but I couldn't see very far, as it was covered in fog," Suzie continued. Kudamon, Agumon, Lalamon, Gaomon, Suzie, Lopmon, BanchoLeomon and Spencer immediately became worried, as given the context of the conversation, only a single location came to mind...

Suddenly, they looked uncomfortably at the brunette. Suzie pondered briefly whether Kristy was still human, as there was no telling what the Dark Ocean could've done to her.

Kristy's next statement only comfirmed their worst fears. "ENIAC said that it was called the Dark Ocean."

Suzie shuddered in discomfort, remembering the last time that she had fought a creature from that dimension back home with everyone, several months ago.

Even with Sakuyamon Azure Mode to keep it contained, the combined forces of Gallantmon, Justimon, Cherubimon, Beelzemon Blast Mode and Machinedramon to chip away at it, and MarineAngemon to keep up everyone's strength, it had still taken over an hour before that creature had been destroyed for good.

Of course, no-one doubted that there were hundreds or even thousands more like it lurking in the Dark Ocean, at the least. Just then, something occurred that no-one had ever expected.

The door opened, revealing a petite white-skinned creature with bright-green eyes like Marcus and Kristy, having purple-tipped ears and feet. On its forehead was a red-and-black triangular marking.

"Hey, Suzie," He greeted cheerfully when he spotted the familiar girl, flying towards her. The others shrugged at the sight, figuring that he was a Digimon from her universe.

"Hey, Calumon," She responded, as he landed beside her. "Haven't seen you in a while."

"Yeah, I've been visiting Takato's cousin Kai," The creampuff Digimon answered. It wasn't until then that Suzie realized the impossibility of Calumon being in this universe, and the absurdity of visiting Takato's cousin.

"Calumon, Takato's cousin lives in Okinawa," Lopmon pointed out. Oblivious to the oddity, Calumon nodded merrily. "That's about two-thousand kilometers away from Shinjuku. How did you get there?"

"I flew," Calumon answered simply, seeming to believe that it accounted for all of the problems in traveling from Shinjuku to Okinawa.

"You... _flew_?" Thomas answered flatly. Calumon nodded. "Even assuming..." The blond paused to calculate the distance and required travel-speed. "Even assuming a generous flight-speed of fifteen meters per second, that's still impossible in a single day, and I doubt that anyone would give you a plane-ticket."

"So?" Calumon confusedly asked, pouting slightly. Fascinating though the conversation was, Gumdramon had something more important to discuss with Suzie.

"Suzie, back then, in ENIAC's dimension, he said that King Drasil wanted to get rid of me and Kristy to prevent us from Bio-Merging, but he never elaborated on that," The mini-dragon explained to her. "You know why, don't you? What is a Millenniumon?"

Suzie froze in panic, trembling at the memory of facing that evil god a few years ago. Agumon and Gaomon took wary steps away from Gumdramon, wondering what sort of monster he had become.

"Millenniumon," Suzie snorted with an uncomfortable smirk. That made sense. Whether Machinedramon and Kimeramon, or Kristy and Gumdramon, that one was still the ultimate composite Digimon. "The ultimate composite Digimon. Somehow, this doesn't surprise me..."

Lopmon considered her partner's words briefly. Digivolution lines that intersected weren't exactly common, but it definitely wasn't impossible that both the Monodramon and Gumdramon had Cyberdramon as a shared Ultimate, and then possibly diverging at the Mega-level.

There was a faint bit of poetic irony to the situation, she mused. What was it about mini-dragon-Type Digimon that made them so powerful? In two dimensions now, and possibly quite a few more, both Monodramon and Gumdramon had Millenniumon as a possible Mega.

"Ultimate composite Digimon?" Thomas confusedly asked, having failed to find any matches for Millenniumon in DATS' databases. "Another Digimon that DATS has never heard of... Just how many are there?" He noted with distinct annoyance.

"And what can this 'Millenniumon' do?" Marcus asked, eager to have a bit of a spar with everyone.

"Control space and time," Suzie answered bluntly. BanchoLeomon decided that such power might be what he needed. Sampson and the others snickered at her odd joke, while Thomas realized that she was serious.

It wasn't possible for a Digimon to be that powerful, he knew, but on the other hand, it did somewhat explain how Kristy and Gumdramon had managed to go to that other dimension in the first place.

"You're serious!" Yoshino realized, starting to panic slightly, as it was in no way a good thing that a twelve-year old had obtained god-like power.

"Define 'control space and time', Suzie," Sampson requested, his tone brooking no argument. He disliked the idea, but if necessary, DATS would have to terminate Gumdramon, to prevent all sorts of disasters. There was, after all, no guarantees that the two had the mental maturity to safely wield such power, or the experience to use it.

Perhaps, King Drasil'd had the right idea...

"I might as well tell you what a Millenniumon can't do," Suzie shrugged, suspecting to know what the commander was thinking. "Travel through time, manipulate history to cause their own creation, create and destroy dimensions... And that's only what the average Millenniumon can do."

Yoshino gasped in horror at the thought, realizing that for all the power that Lopmon had exhibited, they were comparable to a fairly large sledge-hammer, while Millenniumon wielded true power.

Thomas, however, was more skeptical. How could a Millenniumon create itself? Was it the paradox-Digimon?

"Fortunately, you can't Bio-Merge in the human world," Suzie told them. Kristy blinked, before realizing that _that_ was the reason that she and Gumdra

"Well, this has been fun, but I'll like to go home how," Spencer chuckled.

...

...

...

Later, at the Damon residence, Spencer, BanchoLeomon, Marcus, Agumon, Kristy, Gumdramon, Suzie and Lopmon were assembled in front of the house.

Spencer smiled softly, still unable to wrap his mind around finally being home after so long. It was difficult to imagine it, but it was real. He took a brief breath, deeming the air of the city radically different from the desert of the Digital World.

Suddenly, the door opened, revealing Sarah, who smiled contently, seeing her family together, for the first time in a long time.

"Spencer, when people say they're working late, they mean a few hours, not a decade," She drawled at her husband, who sheepishly apologized for being late. "Still, I'm happy that you're all alive..."

* * *

**So, that's the end of that. Spencer's alive, Kurata's dead, and all is right in the world. Of course, the story can't end here. I've yet to kill a Leomon, after all.**

**Still, all this leaves just one question. ****Whatever happened to Keenan Crier?**


	17. Day 21: The Battle Finale of Legend

**Review Responses**

The Keeper of Worlds) **'Fun' is one way to put it.**

NatNicole)** Alas, we may never know. As things are now, the story looks like it'll never resolve the matter of Keenan, even if there was more time to spend in the world of Digimon Data Squad.**

**Unfortunate, I know.**

**...**

**Be that as it may, I've got a new poll up, and you might wanna leave a vote, since it pertains to this story... Oh, who am I kidding, you won't...**

* * *

A week after Spencer's return, a degree of normality had returned to the Damon household, as no Digimon had shown up to cause trouble in the human world in all that time. Having Spencer around had been a bit awkward for Marcus and Kristy after all these years, but it had been resolved soon enough.

Three days ago, BanchoLeomon had departed, after an incident involving the neighbor's kid and someone called Jotaro Kujo, assuring Spencer and the family that he would return within the month.

He had returned within the day, claiming that the purpose of his journey had been completed far before he expected.

Saturday morning, around the dinner table, Suzie made a shocking announcement, that she and Lopmon were planning to return home, as their assigned task of helping everyone get stronger had been completed.

Suddenly, the kitchen-phone blared, before anyone could react to her declaration. Sarah answered the phone, and shortly hung, saying that it had been Sampson, requesting immediate back-up in Shinjuku national park.

Marcus and Agumon, Kristy and Gumdramon, Spencer and BanchoLeomon, Suzie and Lopmon charged out of the kitchen promptly, leaving Sarah to hope for her daughter's safe return.

...

...

...

_Shinjuku National Park, South of the Sendagaya Gate_

The idyllic garden was entirely scorched clean, a verdant grassland reduced to a lifeless ruin. All by this one Digimon, Sampson thought. On Kentaurosmon's back, he cursed loudly, as this one, a young boy with soft-blonde hair and several feathery wings, had overpowered both Gaogamon's and Lilamon's Burst Modes several times and knocked them down again and again.

Why he did not simply revert them to eggs, he didn't know, but the angel seemed to be restraining his power for some reason. Not only that, but Kentaurosmon pointed out that his movements seemed sluggish, as if some small part of Lucemon's mind was resisting what his body was doing.

Bored with the current stalemate, Lucemon decided to end it. "Flame Inferno." He declared casually.

Kentaurosmon blinked in shock, as Flame Inferno was Daemon's attack, but sure enough, in Lucemon's hand, bright-orange flames appeared, shooting towards the equine-knight.

Instinctively, he raised his shield to ward off the attack, but not even his Odin's Breath was sufficient to counter-act the heat or the force of the attack, and slowly, Kentaurosmon was pushed back, leaving several sizable skidmarks in the already ravaged ground.

Would Lucemon truly venture _this_ far, Kentaurosmon wondered. To load the data of a fellow Demon Lord? _"Stupid question..."_ The Royal Knight realized immediately after questioning it. He was Lucemon of pride, of course he would.

"**HEAVEN'S JUDGMENT****!**" A loud voice proclaimed, and hundreds of clear-white lightning bolts rained down upon Lucemon, interrupting his fiery assault on Kentaurosmon.

Kentaurosmon gasped when he saw the assailant which was Cherubimon revert back into Lopmon, her energy seemingly depleted. Lucemon turned around to see a pair of familiar faces, along with a BanchoLeomon that was coated in a flame-like aura, along with a GeoGreymon with blazing whitish-gold eyes, and to his surprise, an Arresterdramon as well...

These alternate timelines could get so outlandish, he shook his head in amusement.

Two of the said Digimon were charging at him, the GeoGreymon easily flung back and reverted to an Agumon by a single Grand Cross, while the BanchoLeomon took a few seconds of the Flame Inferno before yielding. Lucemon noted absently that almost one percent of his energies had already been expended from fighting for so long.

His musings were abrubtly interrupted by Gaogamon Burst Mode leaping at him, only to be swatted away effortlessly. Suddenly, he registered a faint odd noise, followed by his head being sliced off. Quite the novelty, he mused.

Kristy watched in disgust, trembling in fear, as Arresterdramon had just cut that Digimon's head off with that Dramon Breaker sword. To everyone's surprise, rather than the body reverting to a Digi-Egg, only the severed head floated back to the body, as if guided by an invisible hand, reattaching itself completely, looking as though it had never been separated from his body to begin with.

"As amusing as this is, I really must end it," He spoke calmly, smiling at the terrified humans and Digimon. He extended his left hand into the air, conjuring up a small fire-ball that grew in size until it was as large as a human head. "And as it happens, I believe that I have a solution. I will simply kill all of you."

"Don't count on it!" BanchoLeomon retorted, delivering a solid blow to his right cheek. The fire-ball dispersed, as Lucemon was flung a good distance away. Too late, Kentaurosmon realized that now, Lucemon was in a perfect position to unleash a devastating assault.

"CHAOS FLARE!" Lucemon hollered, unleashing an enormous inferno, far larger than his previous bursts, aimed directly at the group.

Before the flames could get more than about five meters away from however, they collided with a translucent crystalline barrier, while a whitish-blue laserblast that was accompanied by a loud call of 'Positron Laser' separated Lucemon's head from his body for the second time in the battle.

When the group looked left to the source of the attack, they saw in the distance a few Digimon that Suzie recognized.

One of them was a blue-skinned winged knight in sleek white-and-golden armor, looking to be about ten or twelve meters in height and brandishing a large rune-inscribed sword. Built into his left arm was what Thomas surmised to be the lasercannon that had fired the blast.

Beside the knight-like Digimon was what BanchoLeomon initially assumed to be a Sakuyamon. However, this Sakuyamon had soft-blue body armor, unlike the golden of the usual Sakuyamon, nor did the shaman carry the staff.

Beside the shaman was a Rapidmon and a navy-haired male. Unlike the Imperialdramon and Sakuyamon, this Rapidmon had the standard coloration.

"Thanks for the rescue, Rika," Antylamon greeted, deeming the matter of their arrival a story for another time, charging at Lucemon, only to be flung back by his Lampranthus, reverting to Lopmon.

Marcus cursed inwardly, as with that kind of fire, it was too dangerous for him to go anywhere that Digimon, so he had no choice but to leave the fighting to GeoGreymon and the other new arrivals to the party.

To Yoshino's surprise, a new Digimon that resembled VictoryGreymon, only with clawed gauntlets rather than the Dramon Breaker, now stood over Lucemon, glaring coldly down at him, declaring that it was time to pay. For Matt and Gabumon. For Joe and Gomamon. For Mimi and Palmon, For Izzy and Tentomon. For Gennai, and for billions of lives and for destroying their world.

Yoshino gasped at the accusation. Had that Digimon really done something so heinous?!

The fallen angel answered dismissively that he had destroyed hundreds of dimensions, and that he couldn't be bothered to remember a single one. Blinded by anger, the Digimon loudly unleashed a large blaze of flame, in three seconds time while Lucemon took only one to proclaim his Flame Inferno attack.

The Digimon was sent hurtling back, reverting into an Agumon, while a large blue silhouette sped forth from the south, crossing the battle field in an instant, leaving a huge gash in Lucemon's exposed chest, which sealed quickly, the same light-blue energies that had regrown his head healing the injury.

A distance away, the blur ceased to move, revealing itself as another knight-like digimon, a trail of stray dust in his wake. Kentaurosmon gasped in recognition of his comrade, before realizing that it likely wasn't the UlforceVeedramon he knew.

Lucemon grumbled in frustration, as this had become far too annoying. "Crystal Barrier!" Sakuyamon Azure Mode proclaimed loudly, the same barrier forming around him.

However, this time, it was a half-moon shape, shielding the Kentaurosmon and the DATS from his attacks. Imperialdramon smirked. His chest opened, revealing a laser-projector, unleashing his Giga Crusher on the angel.

Lucemon swore loudly, unleashing another fiery blast against the laserblast. Less than a minute later, Veemon and Wormmon fell to the ground, their energies expended, while the angel barely seemed affected by the exchange.

He unleashed a Grand Cross on the crystalline barrier, shattering it. Kentaurosmon eyed his chance, and shot his Inferno Frost at the Demon Lord. With a mocking snort, Lucemon responded in kind, unleashing another Flame Inferno.

Fiery blasts met ablaze arrows, causing a massive explosion of light that blinded everyone, human, Digimon, Royal Knight and Demon Lord alike. The DATS members looked around the battlefield, bewildered at what was going on.

Apparently, this Digimon had destroyed other universes, as though _that_ was possible,Thomas noted. Not only that, but Digimon of various shapes and sizes, including yet again more Digimon that he had never seen the likes of, were arriving to help out with this.

Lucemon scanned his surroundings briefly, noticing that he was surrounded completely.

To his north and north-west, he saw the DATS members, with GeoGreymon, Gaogamon, Lilamon and BanchoLeomon in their Burst Modes, along with the Royal Knight, all of whom were itching to have another go at him.

To his west and south-west, he saw the UlforceVeedramon and Imperialdramon Paladin Mode having gotten back up, ready to fight again. Behind the knight Digimon were their partners, the humans Davis Motomiya, Ken Ichijouji and Rina Shinomiya.

To his south and south-east, he saw Sakuyamon Azure Mode, along with the Arresterdramon and Damon child, Henry and Suzie Wong with their partners, Cherubimon and Rapidmon, flanked by Justimon.

To his east and north-east, he saw WarGreymon and Tai Kamiya with Sora Takenouchi and Garudamon at their side, flanked by Cody Hida, TK Takaishi and Shakkoumon, Yolei Inoue and Aquilamon, and Willis Gladstone, Rapidmon and Antylamon.

He flashed a chilling humorless smile at them all, noticing that they hesitated to attack him. _"And well, they might," _He mused to himself, content in the knowledge that his power exceeded theirs greatly, even without the four Demon Lords within him.

There was something wrong here, Kentaurosmon thought. He had used the attacks of other Demon Lords, but if he had really gone as far as to load their data, why was he still in his Rookie-form, rather than assume the guise of his Shadowlord Mode, or worse yet, Ogudomon, the very incarnation of sin?

"Well, whatever are you waiting for?" Lucemon chuckled at them, interrupting Kentaurosmon's musings. "I know you are dying to say it, Tai."

"GET HIM!" The brunet hollered furiously, cueing his partner to unleash the Terra Force blast on Lucemon. Invariably, he repelled the blast with a gale of flame of his own.

Suddenly, an identical pair of cries of 'Rapid Fire' resounded through the area, and a barrage of missiles was unleashed on Lucemon, dismissed as easily as everything else with a wave of his hand, unleashing a large burst of flame to annihilate them effortlessly.

"No way," One of the Rapidmon exclaimed in shock. "What's it gonna take to bring this guy down?!"

"**We'll find out soon enough!**" The armored rabbit heard Cherubimon's echoing voice proclaim, as what seemed an infinitude of thunderous blasts poured down on Lucemon, seemingly leaving the angel no worse for wear, while the angelic rabbit reverted to Lopmon, thoroughly exhausted from Digivolving to Mega.

Imperialdramon cursed, as everything seemed to have no effect at all on the angel. But he wasn't about to quit either. "POSITRON LASER!" The draconic maw on his chest slid open, revealing a laser-weapon, unleashing a mighty blast on Lucemon.

The angel seemed almost bored by the approaching attack, and responded to it as Davis and Ken remembered Daemon to have several years ago, with a single hand and a raging inferno.

Alas, neither side seemed to win the clash, so UlforceVeedramon decided to give his white-clad counterpart knight a helping hand. "SHINING V-FORCE!"

Suddenly, the golden V shone with clear-white light, unleashing a blast that seemed to rival the Positron Laser in intensity, though even that proved insufficient to overpower Lucemon, and after a minute of sustained fire, the knights reverted to a pair of Veemon and a single Wormmon.

Lucemon wondered briefly who his victim would be, when he felt a pair of beams strike him from behind.

"Ah," He said with noticeable interest, when he had turned to the source of the attack, and seen Shakkoumon, Aquilamon and WarGreymon, all wanting to fight him.

Howling in fury, Aquilamon unleashed a pair of energy-beams from its horns, striking Lucemon square in the chest. To no-one's surprise, he barely seemed to register the attack.

Not to be deterred, Aquilamon fired the blasts again and again for a few minutes non-stop, before fatigue got to him, and a weary Hawkmon collapsed on the ground. "You did great, Hawkmon," Yolei assured him, as WarGreymon, Shakkoumon and Justimon stepped in to fight the angel, with nova-blasts, laserbeams and firm kicks respectively.

Cody stared in horror, as Lucemon swatted the Digimon back with that Flame Inferno attack. He mused that Suzie had been right; if Lucemon was _this _powerful, he and Ken would most likely have died a year ago, had they fought him.

"Who shall be ne-" Lucemon began, before being cut off by BanchoLeomon's forceful fists, with Arresterdramon and both Antylamon not far behind.

Sent hurtling back, Lucemon crash-landed on the ground a distance away from the lion. With

evident displeasure, he unleashed a fiery blast on the lion, who took it in stride, approaching him steadily, as though the flames were nothing to him.

Deciding not to expend power on that, Lucemon decided a change of strategy was in order. "Grand Cross." The angel declared calmly, with ten orbs of bright light forming before him. They flew at BanchoLeomon, the lion cursing his fate, as his death seemed assured.

Just before they would have struck him, they were blocked from their target by a translucent barrier. "Don't think you'll win that easily, Lucemon," Sakuyamon's stern voice called out to him. "You'll kill no Leomon while we can help it."

Lucemon looked briefly to his left, deciding to dispense with the barrier. Frowning in annoyance, he extended his hand, uttering calmly two faint words. "Pandæmonium Lost."

In his hand, a dark orb of energy that crackled with golden electricity appeared, unleashing a blast that annihilated everything in its path, burning the ground in its trajectory to less than nothing, engulfing Sakuyamon entirely, shattering her barrier effortlessly.

Soon, the mighty shaman was gone, and in her place were two unconscious humans, both no older than sixteen or seventeen, a red-haired female and brown-haired male, both bleeding from various spots on their bodies, and two digimon, a yellow fox and a red dinosaur, both similarly out cold.

"Dammit..." The navy-haired male cursed, while Suzie and Antylamon gasped in shock at the sight. Scowling in fury, the Antylamon took out her frustration on the angel, while Henry and Thomas rushed to the fallen four, leaving with Rapidmon and Gaomon, to let the others continue fighting.

Seemingly amused by the act, Lucemon repelled the berserk Antylamon with a simply Grand Cross, only to have his head and right severed from his body by a concerted effort from Arresterdramon and the battle-weary and considerably-injured BanchoLeomon.

Invariably, the angel's injuries healed in a few seconds, and he unleashed another volley of fireballs on them, sending both dragon and lion flying back, the dragon reverting to Rookie from the attack.

"Would you just stay down!" Lucemon hollered, countering each of Lilamon Burst Mode's Marvel Shots with fire-balls fired from his hand. The blasts collided, and releasing blinding flashes that both ignored, continuing the exchange.

"No way!" The plant-sprite retorted as she fired her blasts at the angel, hoping that they were getting closer to wearing the angel down, as he had already worn everyone else down enough that they were running on fumes.

"MEGA BURST!" Both sprite and angel heard GeoGreymon roar. Unconcerned, Lucemon simply raised his other hand, countering the largely blast easily. His energy soon expended, GeoGreymon collapsed and reverted to Rookie, while Marcus cursed his uselessness in this battle.

Tired of the sprite, Lucemon unleashed a Chaos Flare, engulfing her, and sending Lalamon hurtling back.

Looking around for a new victim to browbeat, Lucemon saw to his amusement that Paildramon had gotten back up, and was by Shakkoumon.

Loath as Rina was to admit it, the battle was hopeless. The Demon Lords were some of the most powerful Digimon around, and Lucemon was the strongest of the seven.

"Desperado Blaster!" Paildramon yelled, firing several blasts at Lucemon, inflicting virtually no damage as he'd expected.

Snorting at the futile effort, Lucemon was about to unleash a Grand Cross, when he was interrupted by a faint tingling sensation on his back that he surmised to be Shakkoumon's Justice Beam.

Wondering briefly whether they believed their pointless waste of energy to cause him any sort of harm, he unleashed a Flame Inferno on the Paildramon, reverting the Ultimate to a DemiVeemon and a Minomon, and sent a Grand Cross at Shakkoumon.

To his irritation, the oddly-designed Ultimate simply absorbed his Grand Cross, expelling it through his head, visibly tiring from doing so. Still, Lucemon supposed that a single Grand Cross or two hardly mattered.

This time, the attack was much more successful. Shakkoumon reverted to the component Digimon, which were sent flying back, yelping as the Armadillomon and Patamon landed. Both TK and Cody shouted in concern for their injured partners, hoping that they survived.

Looking around in search for a new adversary, he found only humans and injured Rookies, except for Kentaurosmon and surprisingly WarGreymon as well.

He mused briefly that he really ought to have killed them, but on the other hand, toying with them, watching them squirm and suffer, was just so fun.

Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his neck, while everyone watched Justimon land a solid back to Lucemon's face, snapping his neck with a sickening crunch.

As he had before, Lucemon healed the injury, briefly rubbing the nape of his sore neck.

While Justimon, Kentaurosmon and WarGreymon kept Lucemon occupied, Sampson briefly assessed the situation from the sidelines on the outskirts of the makeshift battlefield.

On their side, they had quite a few Digimon. He counted about fifteen or twenty... Kentaurosmon, Agumon, Lalamon, Lopmon, Gumdramon, Veemon, Wormmon, Armadillomon, Hawkmon, another Agumon, a Garudamon that had yet to step in, another Veemon, another Rapidmon that had likewise remained passive, and another Antylamon.

He had no idea where all those other Digimon had come from, but he wasn't about to turn down a helping hand.

"THUNDERCLAP!" Justimon shouted, slamming his metallic arm into Lucemon, forcing the angel into the dirt. As he'd expected, it amounted to pissing off Lucemon and getting his face and toga covered in dirt.

Snarling, the angel unleashed another Flame Inferno, enshrouding Justimon entirely, though the flames dispersed almost immediately, the Digimon only marginally injured by the incandescent attack.

Lucemon prepared for a Chaos Flare, before Kentaurosmon interrupted him. The angel decided that the equine-knight had annoyed him for the last time, and unleashed a Flame Inferno. Instinctively, Kentaurosmon blocked the assault, yet he was pushed back again. Hopefully, Sampson and Spencer would soon resort to the Final Sanction, as there was no way that they could win this battle.

As if sensing his thoughts, Spencer and Sampson withdrew from the battle, knowing that they couldn't help anymore, and that they still had cards to play elsewhere.

Lucemon turned his attention away from the Royal Knight, watching with disinterest as the two humans fled the scene, not particularly interested in cowards like them.

Suddenly, Justimon intervened, ending his assault on the Royal Knight with a swift kick, sending him flying. "Going... To kill you..." Lucemon groaned, clutching his stomach.

Elsewhere on the battlefield, Arresterdramon hollered at Garudamon, the other Rapidmon and Antylamon that they shouldn't just stand around, referring to them as dumbasses, before charging into the fray, and being sent back to them by a Flame Inferno.

At that very moment, both Lucemon and Justimon were thinking the exact same thoughts. Where was Lilithmon? The plan couldn't move forward without her, so what was taking her so long?!

As Justimon pondered the matter, Lucemon unleashed a Grand Cross on him that hit him square in the abdomen, sending the hero of justice hurtling a good distance, separating into Ryo and Monodramon.

Suddenly, Lucemon felt a strong blow to the back of his head, sending him face-first into the dirt, for the second time he annoyedly noted. As if that wasn't enough, his assailant began to relentlessly land blows into his back, with what felt like four arms. Did the humans somehow have a Millenniumon on their side?

More likely, he supposed that it was the two Antylamon deciding to buy some time for the other combatants to get back up. Admirable strategy, he thought briefly, entirely unfazed by the seemingly endless blows, fatal though they would have been to any human.

After a minute, he decided that enough was enough. To the utter shock of both Antylamon and everyone else present, Lucemon floated slowly upwards, seemingly virtually unaffected by all those blows.

Looking around, Lucemon sighed mentally that these Digidestined and Tamers seemed gluttons for punishment, as not only was Imperialdramon Paladin Mode and UlforceVeedramon ready to step in when he had dispensed with the Antylamon, but the Shakkoumon, Aquilamon, Gaogamon, Lilamon, Arresterdramon, BanchoLeomon, Justimon and Kentaurosmon were also ready to fight him once more.

Suddenly, an enormous monstrous hand, composed of visibly rotting and bleeding flesh, whose fingers resembled assorted varieties of dragons, appeared and grabbed a firm hold of Lucemon, the eye embedded in the palm of the hand eyeing him confusedly, while both maws licked their lips, hungry for a bit of a snack.

At the gate, a woman garbed in a jet-black and soft-purple dress commanded Lucemon's attention. Justimon sighed, as she had _finally _bothered to show.

"Well, you certainly weren't in a hurry," Lucemon greeted his fellow Demon Lord, remaining calm in the grip of Lilithmon's manifested hand. "But I must think you, for coming to me voluntarily. If only Beelzemon was as cooperative... Ah, but you had a plan to stop, no doubt, so feel free to implement it. I am hardly in a hurry."

Lilithmon stifled a chuckle, as Lucemon actually seemed to believe that she was unaware of his plan. "Why, thank you, Lucemon," She gave a haughty laugh, snapping her fingers, clawing his head off.

Lucemon hoped that it wouldn't happen as it was starting to grow tiresome. The hands that Lilithmon had conjured up dissipated into nothing, and Lucemon's regenerating body regrew the head, only for Lilithmon to snap her fingers, and another such hand appeared, mauling his neck.

"Would somebody care to hold him down while I extract the other Demon Lords?" Lilithmon dryly asked. The Antylamon looked confusedly at everyone else, who seemed equally confused, but acceded to her request, both Antylamon stepping on one of his arms, while Lucemon struggled to break free from underneath their feet.

Lilithmon sauntered up to him, leaning down and placing her skeletal hand on his chest. The task wasn't difficult, Lilithmon mused. At least, identifying the parts of Lucemon's data that were the other Demon Lords wasn't difficult. Now, forcing those data matrices out of Lucemon... That would drain a fair portion of her energy, which she was already running a bit low on, and cause Lucemon excruciating pain.

Still, she supposed that her energy would be replenished soon enough. The Antylamon that was partnered to Willis yelped as bolts of dark-blue, light-blue, purple and orange lightning shot upwards from the writhing angel, who screamed in unbridled agony.

Whatever Lilithmon was doing, she seemed to be finished, and stood up to her full height, with four small orbs, composed of dark-blue, light-blue, purple and orange light, floating in her fleshless hand.

"Would _someone _explain what's going on!?" Marcus exclaimed in frustration. After what felt like an hour of non-stop fighting, she just showed up and ended it?! He refused to believe that it was that simple.

Yoshino and Lilamon were inclined to agree, while Arresterdramon joked that it was anti-climactic. Still, he supposed that any ending to this battle that involved everyone present surviving was a good one.

Suddenly, everyone blinked when Lucemon began to disappear, slipping downwards into a pool of water that had formed from seemingly nothing. Both Kristy and several of the Digidestined recognized the waters, even as they evaporated into nothing as they had been formed.

"Yeah," Tai began bitterly, unsure of how to explain the situation. "Basically, Lucemon is responsible for killing everyone in our universe, and numerous others."

Yoshino gasped in horror at the notion. She knew that Digimon possessed some wild and varied powers, but to kill a world?

"Lucemon's done all that?!" Kristy exclaimed, stunned.

"Yeah," Davis added quietly. "In order for us to survive, some of our friends sacrificed their lives..."

Kristy trembled in disgust and shock, unable to wrap her mind around the fact that someone would do what that angel had. "I'm sorry..."

Yoshino knew that it wasn't much, but at the same time, it was all they really could do. Tai, however, didn't seem to appreciate that apology, glaring murderously at Kristy, visibly tensing and clenching his fists.

He had lost everything, his family, his friends, his world, and she had the nerve to say that she was sorry?! As though she understood what it felt like, even in the slightest!?

Recognizing someone itching for a fight when he saw it, Marcus stepped in front of his sister, while Yoshi decided to try defusing the situation. "Look, I don't know what's going on, or who any of you people are, so could you please explain what's going on!?"

"Yeah, that sounds reasonable," One of the strangers, a male that looked no older than seventeen, responded, with distinct amusement. He wore a simple blue jacket with a white zipper-line, along with a simple pair of black jeans.

He was interrupted, when he spotted hundreds, possibly thousands of Digimon that he didn't recognize, appeared in the sky. He surmised that they were brought by Lucemon as back-up, but if so, why were they late? He cringed when he looked around. With that many, even the Mega-levels that were present would likely not be enough...

"STAY YOUR HANDS, DIGIDESTINED AND TAMERS!" A voice called out to them that Suzie and Tai recognized. In the sky, everyone saw a burst of energy, similar to Imperialdramon's Positron Laser, tear through about a dozen of the Digimon, while a golden-clad Digimon charged at the others, firing missiles from his shoulder guards, taking out a Digimon with each blast. Even Kentaurosmon watched in awe, as all twelve of his fellows dispatched the Digimon within moments.

...

...

...

An hour later, Sampson and Yoshi were in the command center, with the agent handing in a full mission report. Lalamon floated next to her, while Miki and Megumi were doing their usual computer work.

Their visitors and the injured were in the medical wing of the building, as there had been no other places to store so many.

"Digi-what now?" Sampson echoed the unusual term quizzically. Yoshi gave an amused smile, as it had been her reaction to the appellation as well.

"Digidestined, commander," Yoshi confirmed. "According to Sora, twelve humans from their universe, eight for the first group and four for the second, were given Digimon partners, in order to defend both worlds from anyone who would try to take them over. They claim that it was a group of Digimon called the Harmonious Ones, which Suzie identified as the Digimon Sovereign, the warrior gods of the Digital World, that gave them their partners."

Sampson didn't answer, briefly considering the absurd concept. Though he wanted to believe it, he had no evidence that agencies comparable to DATS and Hypnos existed in their universe, and trace evidence to the contrary. It was inexcusable, nothing but. These Harmonious Ones, or Sovereign, whichever, actually recruited innocents childrens and teens to fight battles that weren't theirs, and left them to fend for themselves?!

Lalamon watched as the commander's expression changed from stony, to grave, to visibly worried, and back again. The man noted that he perhaps only viewed these Digimon from an accusatory angle, as likely, the situations were dire enough to justify the extreme measures, even if he didn't agree with them.

"Yoshino, who exactly are these Harmonious Ones, or Sovereign?" The commander asked, his tone indecipherable, wondering why Kudamon had never brought up these Digimon, though in his defense, there had never seemed an appropriate time.

"The Digidestined were only able to identify one of the four," Yoshino answered sternly. "Azulongmon, a Mega-level Digimon that they claim to have twelve DigiCores within him, which they claim to be the very soul and life-force of a Digimon." "'Twelve 'DigiCores'..." Sampson noted with faint awe at the prospect. What sort of powers would that grant them?

Absolute immortality, beyond even the Digimon reincarnation cycle? The power to manipulate and rewrite data, akin to a programmer?

Or simply, power that rivaled a dozen Mega-levels... A dozen Kentaurosmon, or Cherubimon... The thought was mildly unsettling, as what exactly served to prevent them from abusing such power?

Briefly, he wondered why there were four of them. On paper, three seemed a more practical number, with one to put forward a notion, one to discourage the notion, and one to decide the matter.

"Suzie identified them as the Digimon Sovereign, and gave a name for all four," Yoshino continued apace. "Apparently, each of the four rule over a portion of the Digital World. Azulongmon rules over the east-sections as the Azure Dragon, Ebonwumon rules the north-sections as the Black Tortoise, Zhuqiaomon, the Vermillion Bird, rules the south, and Baihumon rules the west."

Sampson noted that somehow, those Digimon corresponded exactly to the Four Symbols of chinese mythology. Alas, he had neither the time nor the interest to ponder whether the Symbols formed the basis for the Digimon or vice-versa. "And they are all 'Digidestined'?" Sampson asked, while Kudamon rested on his shoulder, in a state that might well be mistaken for a deep slumber.

"No, commander," Yoshi answered. "According to Suzie and her brother, Henry, the group from Suzie's dimension call themselves Tamers. The difference seems to be that Tamer is a more generic term, while Digidestined refers to the people chosen for a specific task."

"I see," Sampson responded dismissively.

"So what happens now, commander?" Yoshino concernedly asked, knowing that humans with Digimon partners weren't viewed lightly. She knew that he'll likely demand that they either signed up with DATS, split up or left this universe.

It was a good question, he supposed. And it was a shame that he had no decisive answer. "I'm not sure, Yoshi. The offer to join DATS will be presented to them, but ultimately, the choice is theirs."

Regardless, he and DATS now had work to do. With everything that had transpired, DATS would need to be ready to act, in case anything like this ever happened again... It was a changed world now, he mused. Humanity knew that Digimon existed, even if they weren't aware of the specifics.

"I'll suggest the possibility tomorrow, and if any of they turn it down, Kristy and Gumdramon will transport them to another dimension of their choice," Sampson told the two.

...

...

...

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the DATS building, one floor below, past several corridors, in what amounted to a hospital room with a few beds and scattered pieces of medical equipment, the surviving Digidestined and Rina were gathered, along with their respective partners, a gloomy atmosphere filling the room from the shared realization that Lucemon had effectively beat them completely.

"Well, Lucemon's gone," Sora stated quietly, unsure of what their next move would be, Biyomon scanning her surroundings warily. Their universe and families were all gone, so that effectively put the kibosh on any plans they might have had with their lives, she noted sardonically. "So what do we do next?"

Cody looked around, while Armadillomon rested on one of the beds. To his disappointment, not even Davis or Tai seemed to have an answer. He supposed that he couldn't fault them for it, though. After all, getting revenge had been their driving force, and now that they had, where else had they to go?

The thirteen-year old gave a deep sigh, with a melancholic expression on his face. He knew that Davis wouldn't approve of him, of anyone, giving up easily, but he just saw no reason not to.

After all, whether he persevered or not, his universe and family remained dead, killed by that damn angel.

"I don't know," Yolei answered her glumly. "I guess, since we've got nothing more to lose, it doesn't matter..."

None of the others found any faults in her statement, but then again, none of them really bothered to dwell on it, either. "So, are we just gonna stay in this universe?" Rina asked. She had nothing against staying, as she had barely spent a week in Davis' universe, but she was more concerned about how the others were coping.

Tai gave her a smirk that was both reassuring and chilling, given the circumstances. "I don't see any other options, so most likely yes. And unless anyone has any objections, I'll like to suggest that we find a way into the Dark Ocean."

Yolei cringed inwardly, which Hawkmon noticed. Though Tai and the others had assured her a few times that they didn't blame her for it, she couldn't help but feel responsible.

About six months after Suzie had dropped by, and left due to circumstances that she didn't care to recall, Kari, Gatomon, her and Hawkmon had been enjoying a quiet saturday morning in a local park, when strange humanoid creatures that seemed to be made of viscious gaseous darkness invaded.

No matter what Aquilamon and Angewomon did, the creatures simply shrugged it off, healed and grabbed Kari and Angewomon, before returning to the Dark Ocean. More than anything, Yolei would love to get her hands on whatever 'Undersea Master' those... _Things _served, and teach him a lesson for kidnapping one of her best friends.

Outside on the hallway, Thomas and Gaomon had just attended to the injured Rika and Takato, the canine freezing in his tracks at the mention of the familiar location. Charging back and startling Thomas mildly with the sudden motion, he looked into the hospital room, visibly alarmed, demanding to know whether someone had really just said 'Dark Ocean'.

The group shared surprised looks, wondering how that Digimon, Gaomon if TK remembered correctly, knew what the Dark Ocean was, when even Gennai'd had only scarce information about that dimension. Tai nodded, as any clue about the mystery behind the Dark Ocean would help greatly.

"The Sunless Sea, the World of Darkness, the Dark Ocean, the birthplace of darkness itself... I don't really know much about it, other than that it's ruled by a Digimon called Dagomon," Gaomon told them, audibly uncomfortable by merely mentioning the name. "But if you want to go to that dimension, DATS has the means for it."

Tai pondered it briefly. While he was curious as to how exactly this 'DATS' agency had the means to reach the Dark Ocean, he decided that anything, _anything, _that could help save Kari from this 'Dagomon', would be helpful.

Rina, however, blinked in recognition of the name. Dagomon were Ultimate-level Virus Digimon, nasty sorts in her opinion, oddly a bit rare.

"Thanks," Tai told the canine, turning to the others. "Davis, Rina, Ken, Yolei, I want you guys to go back to the Tamers' universe, and see if you can find out anything about the Dark Ocean there. Me, Sora, Cody and TK will check out things here, and we'll meet up every three days."

The four nodded, while Cody added that he'll rather go to the Tamers' universe. No-one questioned it, knowing that Cody likely had his reasons. Ken, however, had his apprehensions about the assignments.

It wasn't that he didn't care about Kari, but it had already been six months since she was taken into the Dark Ocean, and they hadn't been able to find a way to go there, as the Dark Spore inside him seemed all but inert, after they had sent Daemon there.

Sora and TK sighed inwardly. While they wanted to share Tai's optimism, they just doubted that Kari had the strength to resist Dagomon after so long. A few days, certainly, but the redhead wouldn't be surprised if she wasn't already broken, or even dead. She wanted to believe that Kari was still struggling and alive, wherever she was, but it just didn't seem likely.

Regardless, they both went along with his plan, as admittedly, there was some small chance that Kari was alive and well, even if every single second literally meant the difference between life and death, between healthy sanity and a broken mind.

Because really, million-to-one chances? _That _was a detail too trivial to bother with; they _were_ Digidestined, after all.

* * *

**Heh... 4,600 words early, but it'll have to do. Plus, there's still the epilogues coming up next.**

**1) Yes, the Kari/Dark Ocean plotline isn't exactly original, I realize, but I've got plans for it.**

**2) Yes, I can comfirm that Matt, Mimi, Izzy, Joe, Gennai and their families are all dead. Ain't I a stinker?**


End file.
